Mary-Ellen Dyson enjoys a night of sleuthing in Southgate as Chickenshed hosts its first-ever murder mystery event

The murder mystery event at Chickenshed last month (credit Leda Omran)

I have always been intrigued by the prospect of a murder mystery night, but I had never had the opportunity to get involved until Chickenshed decided to host one last month – and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Immersiveness is all the rage in theatre at the moment, and the Southgate theatre’s Murder Mystery Evening was a truly immersive experience.

Great care and attention went into bringing the setting of a 1920s club to life, with scenery, costumes and music all contributing to the atmosphere. The audience also did their bit by dressing up from the era – a prize for best dressed would have been keenly fought.

The best part was the immersive improvisation. From the moment that one walked in, long before the official start time, characters were having plot-critical conversations inches from people’s tables – a test of my lip-reading skills when they spoke quietly!

After the murder occurred, a detective interrogated characters on a small stage at the front whilst characters continued to interact between the tables. At times, characters would circulate to discuss suspicions with the audience; teasing out their stories, and pushing the murderer to reveal themselves, was great fun.

I really enjoy puzzles of all varieties, and Chickenshed’s evening provided excellent puzzling throughout. It was tremendously engaging to watch the characters’ goings-on in the background throughout, picking up clues and many more red herrings.

Guessing ‘whodunnit’ was far from easy. Guests who wanted to lean into the puzzling, as I did, had plenty to get their teeth into.

There is something for everyone in this murder mystery evening. For those who wanted an involved experience, the show was thoroughly interactive, with endless deduction throughout. For those who wanted a 1920s experience, the evening delivered in spades.

For the music lovers among us, there were three renditions of period songs, and the pianist provided plenty of 1920s-themed background music (and ‘dun-dun-dun’ riffs, as appropriate). And for those who wanted a light evening, the show was tongue-in-cheek and didn’t take itself too seriously; there were plenty of laughs throughout.

Chickenshed has plans to host its Murder Mystery Evening again in future, although no dates have yet been confirmed. It would be great fun with friends – with six sat each table – but if you’d prefer to go on your own, Chickenshed’s community feel means that there would be plenty of people at your table who would be ready to share the experience with you.

Chickenshed’s Murder Mystery Evening offers a great night out for all. My top tip would be to arrive early – the experience begins long before the start time, so soak up as much of it as possible while you can!

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