[AD – PR invite*]
★★★
Murder is the theme of Grownup Playhouse’s A Murder Mystery Musical – The Detective’s Demise which is currently at Just The Tonic as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. Last year I watched their production of To Be A Prince, which is Charming! The Musical for the 2026 festival, and after enjoying the fairytale-centric musical, I decided to give their murder mystery-themed piece a go. Retiring Detective Ben Stone is murdered at his own birthday party whilst a storm is coincidentally happening outside and cuts them off from the outside world. The audience gets to be a fly on the wall for the questioning and finger pointing as Ben’s protege, sleuth Penelope Puck, figures out which of the five suspects had the means, motive and opportunity. It’s kind of ironic that the detective who has been solving cases for so long ends up dying mysteriously at his own party, kicking off an interesting concept for a musical.
Thoughts on the score
Last year it was apparent that this company can write engaging musical theatre songs and this statement still rings true for The Detective’s Demise. The music is a highlight, notably ‘Who, What, When, Where, Why’ which is deeply fitting for a murder-mystery musical and another hilarious track about the obviously platonic relationship between the Detective and step sister Lucy. The seven company members are each powerful and confident singers and every time there is a musical number where they perform collectively, you are hit by the strength of the wall of sound.
Narrative and pacing
This show uniquely for Fringe has a slightly longer running time of 1 hour 20 minutes, which is actually in my opinion to its detriment. The material starts strong, with the introduction of the premise and the characters, who each have distinct personalities and connections to the victim. There is lots of banter between the party guests which is amusing initially, but it keeps going throughout and begins to tire quickly. In a whodunnit you want to know and understand the suspects, but faster pacing would keep attention focused on the overall narrative. Furthermore, Ben Stone also comes back to life in places for flashback scenes, which disrupts the continuity of the story in places and makes it a little tricky to get back into the flow of the present day events.
A creative concept
There is plenty to like within this unique concept for a musical. There are lots of twists and turns, but overall, I believe this would be a slicker piece at around the 1 hour mark, better sustaining the mystery and intrigue throughout the whole running time. You can catch A Murder Mystery Musical – The Detective’s Demise at Just The Tonic at The Caves – Just The Fancy Room until 30th August (not 18th). Performances start daily at 17:50, with tickets available via the festival’s website.
*My ticket for A Murder Mystery Musical – The Detective’s Demise was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
Comments