DEAD AS A SHED

Dead as a Shed is a well-written original murder mystery with an engaging premise. Writing a successful murder mystery is never easy; there is a delicate balance between too obvious clues and an obscure solution with little chance of solving it. The script strikes this balance well, with subtle clues throughout the evening without giving the game away too early.

The direction was straightforward and allowed the story to take centre stage, a no frills and no gimmicks production. It took a few moments to realise that the action was intended to represent a Zoom meeting or a radio play. A little more consistency in the presentation—perhaps with each performer using a laptop rather than a mixture of scripts and laptops—would have helped establish this concept, providing the cast with a more natural focal point during conversations, allowing greater immersion in the scene – more eye contact with the audience would have been nice.

The central premise is simple but effective: which of the four suspects is the murderer? Each character was distinct and offered plausible motives, ensuring the audience remained engaged throughout, although because of the relaxed feel of the production some dialogue was lost to audience noise. While the performances were enjoyable, the production could have been elevated further had more of the dialogue been performed from memory, allowing the actors greater freedom to interact naturally and fully explore their characters.

Arlo Hooper, playing Beverley Bishop in the first casting, demonstrated how effective the above approach can be. Having clearly learnt much of the role, Beverley was played with confidence and personality, giving the character depth whilst delivering important information clearly without making the clues feel obvious.  In the second cast this part was played by a confident and slightly haughty Lucy Gosling

Adam Carter gave a convincing performance as Ted Cooper, capturing Ted's frustration and short temper well and in the second casting Barry Pain showed the grumpiness and exasperation of the man, both naturally encouraging the audience to question his innocence without making the outcome feel predictable.

Katie Williams, as Abigail Pounder, portrayed the inquisitive parish councillor with warmth and authenticity. Her performance struck a nice balance between providing the audience with the necessary information and maintaining the mystery surrounding her character.

Andrew Mayze completed the suspect lineup as Lysander Bell, delivering another well-defined and believable character, his comic timing and clever word play was a plus. Together, the four suspects created an enjoyable variety of personalities, each with enough credibility to keep the audience guessing until the final reveal.

One of the production's strengths was that no single suspect stood out as the obvious culprit. Thanks to varied performances and carefully placed clues, any of the four could have been responsible, making the eventual solution all the more satisfying.

Kimberley Strut was played in the first casting by 12-year-old Lucy Gosling. She handled a dialogue-heavy role with confidence and showed an understanding of the character. As she continues to develop, taking a little more time with some of the longer passages would help ensure every word lands clearly with the audience. Nevertheless, this was an accomplished performance, particularly given her age.  In the second cast the part was played by Julia Mark, who timed her interjections well, with her light Scottish accent cutting through the arguments with other characters.

The investigating officers, DS Stephanie Nook (Maddie Norman) and Superintendent Vicky Blanchard (Wendy Bywaters), worked well together in guiding the story through the investigation. Their performances kept the narrative moving at a good pace while helping everyone piece together the timeline of events.

Hosting the evening was Jonathan Goodson as DI Maxwell. Acting as the bridge between the audience and the cast, he managed audience interaction confidently, answered questions with ease, and kept the evening running smoothly while ensuring everyone remained engaged with the investigation.

Programme notes show that the author’s intention was that by staging it as he did would enable actors with diverse abilities and movement to take part, and in Julia’s case for the inclusion of a wheelchair user, with Lucy covering two different adult roles, both of which she accomplished well.

Overall, Dead as a Shed provided an entertaining and enjoyable evening of theatre, offering an engaging mystery that kept the audience guessing until the very end. At just £5 a ticket, it represents excellent value for money and is an evening I would recommend to anyone looking for an enjoyable and interactive night out.

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