Book: Joe Kinosian and Keller Blair
Music: Joe Kinosian
Lyrics: Keller Blair
Director: Caroline Leslie
The title may scream serious drama, but Murder for Two – an Octagon Theatre Bolton and Stephen Joseph Theatre co-production – is far from it, taking the laugh out of manslaughter and leaving audiences feeling like they could die from howling.
Directed by Caroline Leslie and with book and music by Joe Kinosian and book and lyrics by Keller Blair, this is a show packed with comedy and farce – with multi-talented actors Lucy Keirl and Tom Babbage playing 13 characters between them.
The pair tell the story of the murder of famous author Arthur Whitney at his own birthday party and wannabe Detective Officer Marcus Moscowicz’s plight to find the suspect. Like any good murder mysteries, there’s plenty of people in the room with a motive to kill – leaving everyone guessing until the end about the real identity of the murderer.
Keirl and Babbage are a force to be reckoned with, a double act who are sharp, unbelievably quick and incredible storytellers. Keirl, who has more parts to play, slips seamlessly into each of her roles, changing her voice and using recognisable gestures to let the audience know who she is portraying – from the flirtatious ballerina, to the eccentric widow, to the ill-fated psychiatrist. And you can absolutely see how Babbage is an alumni of The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong, his ability to bring silly to the stage truly shining through.
Not only do the pair flawlessly deliver an intense script of dialogue, but they also underscore their own words by playing a piano live on stage. And it’s not just the scripted moments that really stand out with the duo – it’s their ability to respond to and involve a live audience, with little quips and well-timed ‘in jokes’ being thrown in to really get audience members into the palms of their hands.
While creatively it does give the overall piece more depth, the music is more narrative-driven and because of that it can often be quite samey in its melody (rather than huge stage stopping musical theatre numbers). But while you’re never going to walk away humming the tunes from this show, they are also a real reason why you walk away so impressed with the duo on the stage and wondering if there is anything they can’t do.
This is a show that should be filling auditoriums – it’s what theatre is all about, pure uninterrupted escapism watching next level talent. Be patient with the first few minutes while you adapt to the pace and try to get to grips with all the multi-role and you’ll have a night many would kill for!
Runs until Saturday 27 June.
