The Mystery of Pleasance Two theatre review: Cluedo come to life
Audience members become sleuths in this interactive, board game-style whodunnit
Part Cluedo puzzle, part TV game show, this inventive and engaging piece, co-produced by puppet wizards Little Angel Theatre, takes the beloved (and frankly surreal) genre of cosy murder and turns it into a live, family-friendly crime-solving quest.
The whole show is performed by co-creator Danyah Miller, who adopts the role of gamesmaster and detective with fabulous gusto, whipping around the stage, moving little figures on a theatre maquette and pinning pieces of evidence to a corkboard. The scenario is that of an actress murdered mid-performance and, in true Agatha Christie style, each suspect has their own simmering motive for bumping the victim off. The show is divided into rounds to determine the suspects’ alibis and secrets, while background music flips between golden-age-of-murder jazz and quiz show electro-pulsing. Meanwhile Miller encourages the children in the audience to question the suspects or pick out various pieces of evidence.
Inevitably, being written in a board game format (which leads to different guilty parties in different shows), the characters and their motives feel a little tenuous; it could really be any of them. But Miller’s performance buzzes with energy from start to finish and this is a highly original way to keep little minds engaged.
The Mystery Of Pleasance Two, Pleasance Courtyard, until 16 August, noon; picture: Ellie Kurttz.