It is a brave choice to do a one man murder mystery, but the combination of audience participation, plot twists and energy involved keeps the audience thoroughly engaged.
Written by and starring Luke Rose, DC Richard Head is an entertaining and fast paced murder mystery in which the audience themselves become involved with the proceedings as the story unfolds.
Set at his own retirement party, DC Richard Head is mulling over the mystery that he never solved – the murders of his fellow officers Jo, John and Joanna. But what was the motive behind their deaths and will he finally be able to solve it?
Filled with colourful characters, played with great flamboyancy by Luke Rose, the audience is effectively swept into the mind of as Richard attempts to solve the mystery – offering increasingly comical scenarios as to the way in which they died (great use of physical comedy is used here) and helping the audience to draw their own conclusions.
At just over an hour long, the show is directed with great pace and energy by Holly-Anne White, who also ensures that the use of audience participation is nicely balanced along with the story unfolding at a nice piece.
If you are less than comfortable about the audience participation it might not be the show for you, as you can be encouraged to go up onto the stage as an additional character or given clues to read out and of course share your suspicions. However, given the intimate nature of the theatre space it is not overwhelming and feels comfortable.
The writing of the show is sharp and you can tell that Rose is adept at switching aspects of the script depending on the audience watching. Does it get occasionally a little too silly? Yes but thanks to Rose’s engaging performance as he switches characters effortlessly it is hard not to be swept away by it all. Perhaps if the show developed further, more depth and nuance to the characters could be provided as well as more of a build up to the big reveal as to who committed the crime – but as it stands this still has plenty to recommend it.
For those looking for a lighthearted and entertaining evening to spend with friends will certainly want to pop along to the Canal Cafe Theatre as it will certainly leave you with a smile on your face.
By Emma Clarendon
DC Richard Head continues to play at the Canal Cafe Theatre until the 7th July.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐