As concepts go, it’s clever. 

Using audience participation and suggestions, six performers improvise a murder mystery live on stage. 

Each show is different, each actor is challenged, and the audience feels involved in the storyline. 

With a basic set and elaborate colour-themed costumes, the stage is set for an hour of raucous, unpredictable comedy. 

Unfortunately, as is always a risk with audience participation, sometimes the suggestions just aren’t very good. 

The enthusiastic actors from Degrees of Error did their best, but even so, their efforts to incorporate the themes suggested often fell flat. 

The most entertaining sections were clearly the parts that didn’t rely on those themes, which seemed a little more rehearsed, and which wasn’t really the point of a supposedly fully improvised show. 

That said, the on-stage chemistry and communication between the actors was brilliant, particularly the mock pomposity from Peter Baker and the slapstick japes from Elizabeth Skrzypiec.   

Murder, She Didn’t Write is a well-devised performance with great little touches, and a solid commitment from all the actors. 

It’s engaging, creative and spirited, subverting well-known themes to make a show that will always be fresh and unpredictable. 

It’s just a shame that sometimes the audiences won’t be as creative as the actors.