one4review | On 23, Aug 2025

Detectives in the 1920s are, for whatever reason, an evergreen pasture for theatre productions (just look at the Mousetrap). Adding to that ever expanding oeuvre is the not-so-neatly-named A Shoddy Detective and the Art of Deception from Shoddy Theatre and The Production Garden.

While somewhat cumbersome, the title does enough of the heavy lifting to introduce the premise of the story. A valuable painting has been stolen and the titular shoddy detective – Stuart Pitcock – is on the case. The only problem is that Pitcock is a nervous, bumbling incompetent, so he’s been paired with his arch nemesis, dashing gentleman thief Dusty  Wills to assist him. The pair smash and sleuth their way through a parade of suspects to try and find the truth, and the question becomes will they even be able to work together, let alone catch a thief.

The show is a great mix of silliness and slapstick humour, and the four-strong cast do a wonderful job with the material. While all are excellent, the standout to me was Neil Jennings who plays the hapless Detective Pitcock, who managed to make his wet blanket of a policeman as amusing as he was out of his depth.

It would feel an incomplete review not to mention the Elephant That Goes Wrong in the room here in that, while different in many ways, this production has a very similar style of humour and tone to the wildly successful productions by Mischief Theatre, creators of the various Goes Wrong Shows (whose first production was a 1920s detective story) and that this similarity feels like it’s being played into, at least by the marketing around the show. I would say that there is enough difference in the productions that comparisons between the two are not unfavourable – if you like one, you’ll like the other – but there’s a slight air of cashing-in on a big success that’s slightly off-putting to me, especially in the light of Shoddy Productions next play being a version of A Christmas Carol – a path Mischief has also already walked. The air in the Theatre is that the Fringe is more of a stepping stone to the West End, with glossy overly produced programmes and impressive sets.

But, that aside, this production is a great, fun time and a wonderful treat to anyone who’s ever wondered what Hercule Poirot would be like if he was absolutely useless.

*****
Tom M
McIntosh at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower
16:00
Until 24th