Disclaimer: I was invited to review the below experience and our tickets were complimentary but all opinions are mine.
Close on the heels of my experience of The Murder Express at Funicular Productions, I had the opportunity again to try something quirky and a little bit different to my usual foodie escapades, but with the central theme of murder again (hmm, wonder if it’s a sign!).
One of my favourite pubs in Balham is The Bedford. But this time, instead of stopping by for endless pints, we were visiting for a different reason.
Part of the Wandsworth Art Fringe 2019 that runs in May, I was attending my first Murder Mystery immersive theatre experience organised by Play Dead London, via Love Pop Ups London.
To give you a bit of a background, it was conceived and created by their Artistic Director, Emma Crocombe as a fundraising event. But due to popular demand, it grew into a full-fledged immersive murder mystery company.
The event was held at the upstairs Ballroom at the Bedford (yes, they have a ballroom!) and was appropriately decorated with low lighting and flickering candles to create the right mood for the murder mystery event. We were each sat in teams of two to six people in cabaret-style tables. Fear not if you are not in a group, as you are encouraged to join another table and mingle so it’s quite a social activity.
Food and drinks are not included in the ticket price, but there is a bar inside the ballroom and the pub staff do come around to take your food and drink orders and deliver to your table.
In terms of storyline, it is a murder mystery set in the year 2024 at a school for superhero kids and each cast member or ‘parent’ is a suspect! Hence P.O.S.K.A aka Parents Of Super Kids Association.
The hostess of the evening, who was also the main detective, was hilarious with quick, witty retorts and prompting us whenever required. There were also some cheeky references on veganism and Brexit thrown in!
The best part of the evening was when we, as audience members, got the chance to become super sleuths and interrogate each cast member for two minutes each, speed dating style, and try to solve the case. We had to really put our thinking caps on and ask relevant questions to crack the mystery of who is the murderer. You have to step out of your comfort zone and almost step into the realm of the play.
Throughout the evening we got extra clues that would force us to rethink and discard previously established theories and keep us scratching our heads till the very end.
The acting was enthusiastic and compelling! All of the cast members did a hell of a job to keep us guessing until the very end. The actors remained in character throughout and were really believable. We kept changing our mind as to who the killer was, as there were twists and revelations up until the very last minute. Big congratulations to director Emma for putting a fantastic ensemble together. We stayed a bit past the end, and found out that most have different day jobs and this is a passion project for them.
All in all, it was a brilliantly fun and interactive evening. For a few hours, we let go of our obsession with our phones and put pen, paper and our brains together to try and guess who the killer was! A lovely surprise at the end was when the winning team won a bottle of prosecco for their table for getting the name right! So here’s a little motivation for you to get listening from the very beginning!
Play Dead London are playing next in Kentish Town, so do check their website for more details.
Next Location : Kentish Town Community Centre, 17 Busby Place, London, NW5 2SP
Save the date : Saturday 15 June 2019 at 7:00pm
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