West End Best Friend

*****

Tim Benzie, acclaimed creator and host of Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote, presents his new one-man show, "It's a Mystery!", a hilarious and moving exploration fo the appeal of the murder mystery, summoned to the drawing room to examine the clues with Detective Tim. Why is everyone a little bit Columbo? Are you more Famous Five than Agatha Christie? 

 

It's an interesting fact-filled hour that takes us through the history of the murder mystery. From the very first recognised occurrence of the genre, through childhood puzzles to lockdown distractions, it's all there. Benzie is a great host. His enthusiasm for this genre is immediately apparent and his journey through the topic, heartfelt. Through the Cluedo board, we examine the finer details, which is a brilliant way to keep on brand. 

 

This is a great insight, lots of fun and a joyful production at this year's Fringe. Catch it while you can though, it only has a limited run ... for now! 

 

A killer of a show!

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Reviewed by Rachel Louise Martin 

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THE BRIG NEWSPAPER

****

"It's a Mystery!" is a one-person, hour-long show that sets out to investigate why people love Murder Mysteries.

 

Performer Tim Benzie is an old hand at the Fringe - usually he's hosting Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote. Here he's talking us through how he fell in love with mysteries, whilst also providing a brief history of the genre.

 

Benzie takes us right back to the beginning, with Edgar Allen Poe's Murder in the Rue Morgue, arguably the first 'mystery' novel. Despite having a conclusion regarded as both absurd and surreal, that story also set down many of the ground rules that mystery stories still abide by today

 

These ground rules of the genre were developed and clarified during the period between the two wars, known as the Golden Age

 

This is the era when Agatha Christie's novels began to be published, and Christie was amongst the authors who challenged these conventions and expectations, whilst still remaining true to the principle that the reader should be able to solve the crime as the detective does.

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Benzie's love of the genre began as a child in Queensland, Australia. He enjoyed them for their puzzle nature - despite the subject matter, usually murder, such stories are fun, safe and always have an answer. Benzie contrasts this with real life, where death is rarely so thoughtful or neat. 

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Moving through the requirements for a murder mystery Benzie waxes lyrical about evidence, the victim, the crime scene and the suspects, wrapping all of this up in a journey around a Cluedo board.

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There is some light audience participation but nothing too challenging. Indeed for a subject supposedly so dark, there's an awful lot of humour in this hour. 

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Having diverted to consider how good a detective Spock from Star Trek would be, Benzie allows himself to go off on an even more personal tangent, that perhaps suggests why he became so enamoured of mysteries as a child. Or perhaps it's not that deep

 

There is a huge amount of content crammed into this show. From the history of the genre, to what academics have theorised, to multiple pop culture references, the audience's attention is held in rapture.

 

In the end this is an enlightening hour, and a surprisingly personal piece of story-telling. If you love detective fiction, murder mysteries, or even just stories with puzzles in them, you will find much to enjoy here.