****

The ingredients of a good detective story are a murder victim found in mysterious circumstances, unexplained clues found at the scene of the crime, an obvious suspect, a denouement and a surprising twist at the end. All of these and more appear in this highly entertaining and humorous yarn.

Firstly, Gareth Brierley, as the narrator and one of the performers, appears on stage to give a prologue. He introduces the other two performers Mark Long and Fiona Creese. He explains that they will take on a variety of characters in numerous scenes with flashbacks and flash forwards.

The play, set in 1976, begins and the scenes which flow quickly do perplex. However, as the play moves into the final sequences, everything that has gone before begins to make sense. There are clever references to Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot, as a mime character, makes a crucial contribution.

Detective stories abound on TV but not many are found on the Fringe. This makes this show an interesting addition, especially in the manner of its telling.

Reviewed by Ben

Assembly 2: 3

1 to 27 August 2012

19.30 – 20.30

Fringe Programme Page Number: 308