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Highly Suspect are bringing two murder mysteries
To this year’s Fringe

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We here at the Mumble are huge fans of Agatha Christie, her book Murder on the Orient Express being our favorite. So, when we heard a Christie inspired production company were bringining TWO plays to the Edinburgh Fringe, our interest was very much piqued.

Hello guys, can you tell us where are you from & where are you living today?
MICHAEL: Hi, we’re based in Carlisle, Cumbria. I’m from Carlisle born and bred and Lexie moved up here to study at Cumbria Institute of the Arts and has stayed ever since.

What are your first theatrical memories?
LEXIE: For me, it was being Mrs Lather in Mrs Lather’s Laundry based on the Happy Families card games when I was around 5 in primary school. I remember making the audience laugh and loving that feeling.
MICHAEL: I remember it was putting on woolen pigtails to play the titular role of Little Red Riding Hood in his primary school – the teachers thought doing a play would make him less shy, and it definitely worked!

You’re quite the avid playwright, Michael, what is it about the theatre that makes you tick?
MICHAEL: For me it’s about the intimacy and immediacy – there’s something about having a well crafted story play out right in front of you that the theatre can capture in a way no other medium can. It takes on an almost tangible quality. Plus being able to actually watch an audience laugh at a joke, groan at a pun or exhale in a satisfied ‘aahhh!’ when they discover whodunnit is a joy like no other!

Can you tell us about Highly Suspect?
LEXIE: Highly Suspect is our company. We launched it in 2014 after a sell out initial performance of our first ever mystery ‘Murder at the Museum’ for Tullie House. From there the company has grown and gone from strength to strength. We now have 30 different unique mysteries written by Michael and directed by myself , brought to life by ourselves and our incredibly talented team of actors.
MICHAEL: In essence, we’re an interactive murder mystery theatre company; We love creating work that engages with an audience in a new way, involving them in the show and galvanising them to solve a devious whodunnit. All of our mysteries are solvable; only one person could have done it, and if you can piece together the clues then you can catch the killer. Along with the performances on stage, the audiences are formed into teams who are given evidence packs containing crime scene reports, cryptic codes and puzzles which all provide additional clues to solving the case. Overall we guarantee to provide our audiences with an hour or so of fun, frivolity and fatalities!

Can you tell us about each of the shows?
LEXIE: Murder at the Movies is set in the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age and movie mogul Tom Corny is dead – decapitated inside an impenetrable room, his head mysteriously missing- and now, the lead actor has been shot dead in his locked trailer too! Everyone’s a suspect, from the director Alfred Cockhitch to leading lady Greta Garbage – but who’s shooting for the stars in Tinseltown this tragic day?
MICHAEL: Murder on the Disorient Express is one of my favourite mysteries. It was originally commissioned to be performed on the actual train set of Kenneth Brannagh’s Murder on the Orient Express and it’s the first time we’ve brought it to the Fringe. It’s the scene of the most famous mystery ever to be solved by renowned Belgian detective Hercules Pinot. Now, ten years on, Pinot rides the train once more to celebrate his retirement from sleuthing. But when the detective is found shot, stabbed, strangled and drowned inside his locked compartment, can all of the passengers really be responsible once again, or did one in particular have a locomotive for murder? A whodunnit sure to test ‘ze little grey cells’!

Can you tell us about performing on the film set for Kenneth Brannagh’s Murder on the Orient Express?
MICHAEL: A literal dream come true! The set is beautiful and entirely immersive – there’s no random balsa wood stanchions or false walls – it’s constructed both interior and exterior as a replica of the real Orient Express, so where could be more fun to commit a murder? I’ll admit to being more than a little intimidated when tasked with writing an interactive follow up to arguably one of the greatest mysteries ever penned, set on one of the most famous whodunnit locations in the world, but there’s nothing like a little pressure to get ‘the little grey cells’ in gear and firing on all cylinders!

You know a good show when you’ve done one – what are the ingredients that make it so?
LEXIE: Michael’s brain haha. How he crafts the mysteries to hit that sweet spot in terms of captivating plot, solvable but not too easy or difficult, memorable characters and funny is still a marvel to me nearly ten years on. We have a great return demographic of audience members who’ve come back year after year to see our newest mysteries because they want to test themselves to see if they can solve them each time. We love seeing familiar detective faces at the Fringe or up and down the country when we’re touring the rest of the year; knowing we have a show that has people wanting to come back is always so appreciated.

You’re bringing two shows to this year’s Fringe – why two?
MICHAEL: Previous years we’ve brought two different mysteries but alternated them every other day – typically we’d close our shows with ‘Enjoyed this one? Then come back tomorrow and solve a completely different mystery!’ Once audiences have pitted their wits against a cunning killer once, they often like to try again to maintain their winning streak, or have a second chance at glory! We’ve been lucky enough to sell out previous years, so we’ve been a little more ambitious and are attempting two every day to make sure no one misses out on the fun, frivolity and fatalities!

What will you be doing in Edinburgh out with performing at the Fringe?
LEXIE: Flyering on the mile for sure; you’ll spot us by our Highly Suspect t-shirts! Aside from that, we’ll be trying to see as many shows as we can, and eating at some of our favourite haunts we’ve discovered past Fringes including El Cartel and Wings!

Last year you guys were showcased as one of ‘Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe’ – so, have you rested on your laurels or striven to improve even further?
MICHAEL: With such a dedicated returning audience we never get to rest on our laurels – We always strive to find new and inventive ways to keep people hooked and hungry for more. And with two mysteries every day, there’s twice the opportunity to catch a killer. In Murder at the Movies the sleuths must solve two seemingly impossible locked room mysteries in the space of an hour, while in Murder on the Disorient Express it’s a whodunnit where it seems everyone is responsible for the death of a famous detective. If that’s not something for everyone, I don’t know what is…

You’ve got 20 seconds to sell your show to strangers on the streets of Edinburgh, what do you say?
LEXIE: You will definitely hear me on the Edinburgh Streets brandishing a flyer shouting ” Interactive Comedy Murder Mystery! You Solve the Crime, you catch the killer! We’ve got evidence packs, crime scene reports – all things you need to solve whodunnit! And if you get it correct you even win a sticker! ooooh!”

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BUY TICKETS

MURDER AT THE MOVIES

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
Aug 4-12, 14-26 (13:45)

MURDER ON THE DISORIENT EXPRESS

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
17:05 Aug 4-12, 14-26

www.highlysuspect.co.uk