LOCOMOTIVE FOR MURDER: THE IMPROVISED WHODUNNIT - REVIEW

Pinch Punch are an improv comedy troupe based in London. Last weekend they spent a couple of days at the Vault Festival, with their show Locomotive For Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit.

Lottie Davies as Jane Marbles guides the show, by incorporating audience suggestions to form the story’s background and characters, on this occasion the show took place on a train from Venice to Edinburgh.

David Fenne took on the role of Barry the Baron of Battersea, a fashionista and socialite, Eoin McAndrew took on the role of a German schoolteacher, Sam Ross played Daniel Decker, a bus schedule complier and Emma Lundegaard played Tuppence the teas maid. Each cast member fully committed to each of these characters, eeking out quirks and eccentricities, adding in accents, and bringing each to life. Lundegaard, was particularly great, adding a rather weird and creepy air to the character, she owned the stage whenever she was on it and was a joy to watch.

The audience also chooses the character to be murdered. After this, three envelopes are handed out to the remaining characters, inside one of these it reads ‘guilty’. Unfortunately on this occasion, the audience did not guess the murderer correctly.

This show is ridiculous and hilarious – you will be laughing nonstop. The cast seamlessly integrates audience suggestions, giving incredibly high-quality performances, which some scripted and rehearsed shows lack. It is unbelievable that the show is this good and entirely improvised. They truly have a unique and winning formula here, it is cohesive, and each member of the cast proves an exceptional comedic actor – I could easily watch this show again tomorrow (of course, it would be different, which is the beauty of improv!). If I have one gripe, it’s that it took a while for the premise to be constructed and the characters created, which meant there wasn’t much time for the story to unfold – a slightly longer run time in the future would aid this.

Read all of Amy’s review here

SAVE THE VAULT FESTIVAL

VAULT Festival has been left without a venue for 2024’s festival and beyond
• VAULT Festival have launched a #SaveVAULT campaign
• The campaign aims are to raise £150,000 by 19th March to support the festival’s survival AND to secure a new home for the festival to continue.
• You can help by donating, helping access funding networks, and helping then find a venue.
• You are officially implored to make the most of 2023’s Festival while it lasts!

{🎟 AD: PR Invite – Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review}

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