Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit review | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | The Butterfly Club

After killing it at Melbourne Fringe Festival last year, the residents of Murder Village have returned to Melbourne for another season of murder most improvised. Presented by Dave Massingham, the premise of Murder Village is simple but incredibly effective; one where the audience individually vote for who they would like to see die and who should be their killer. After that, it's up to our improvisers to make the story come to life while keeping us guessing who the two shall be. It's all rather quite dramatic.

Amberly Cull, who plays village sleuth Jemima Marmalade, has been left in the dark as to who the killer is, and alongside Detective Inspector Own Slugget (Massingham), she interrogates all the suspects before gathering them together and confirming if she has unmasked the murderer or lynched an innocent person. The scenes between these two law-abiding citizens are a great example that these "people" are not stereotypes but characters with history and convictions, who just happen to be heightened versions of themselves.

Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit | Melbourne International Comedy Festival interview

We all enjoy a heartwarming murder mystery. Trying to spot the clues as they are laid out for us, or in some cases watching as the detective pieces everything together, can be a thrilling adventure. As part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, audiences have the opportunity to commit their own slice of murder with an improvised homage to Agatha Christie in Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit, a show presented by Dave Massingham and the iconic The Butterfly Club.

Massingham's love for the perfect murder stemmed from a childhood of watching them enacted on stage, TV and in board games. "Ever since I was a kid I loved the cozy murder mystery. Agatha Christie was a perennial favourite. Cluedo was always my preferred board game. I even remember watching episodes of Inspector Morse and Jonathan Creek with my family," he recalls. "When I became interested in improv comedy I knew that I would love to one day develop a classic British whodunnit format. In 2009 I came up with a show structure called Agatha Holmes and put it on with my old Brisbane improv troupe ImproMafia. That would be the bones that would eventually become Murder Village."

A Dinner To Die For review

Photo by Sofia Monkiewicz

I do love a good murder mystery. I've spent countless hours playing Cluedo (and watching the film religiously) and even hosted a few of my own murder mystery dinner parties. So when I saw one was being produced by Bare Elements Productions during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, I knew I had to get involved.

A Dinner to Die For is set in 1928, and we are invited to Lord Quinten Daventry's (Craig Thompson) birthday dinner at his grand home. Invited are many of his good friends (and perhaps some of his not so good friends), including Fanny Farquar (Charlotte Strantzen), Great Uncle Bernie (Simon J Robinson), Captain Montague Smedley-Downes (Ben Loxham) and Gwendella Garavinah (Teagan Robertson). Over the course of the evening, secrets are revealed, love is declared and murder is committed, and this all before the main course is even served!