Whodunnit [Unrehearsed]

A new murder mystery play is coming to the Park Theatre in north London.

But the question isn’t so much Whodunnit…

…as Who’sinnit.

See, this highly entertaining parody will have a different mystery celebrity guest stepping into the role of the Inspector each night, revealed only as they step on stage for the first time. Oh, and they’ll be performing having never rehearsed it before, or even having seen the script.

It’s a little bit Sh*t-Faced Shakespeare (without the booze, presumably), a little bit Whose Line Is It Anyway, and quite a bit Murder in Successville. And with the upcoming cast of Inspectors set to include Gillian Anderson, Brian Cox, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sandi Toksvig, tickets are going fast…

This is actually the third run of Whodunnit [Unrehearsed], after two sell-out runs in previous years and heaps of rapturous praise. Previous Inspector David Mitchell described the laughter – both on and off stage – as “relentless”. And just like before, it’s being staged to raise funds for the Park Theatre (which, despite putting on several critically acclaimed productions a year, receives no public subsidy).

The show itself has been written by the theatre’s founder and artistic director, Jez Bond, and actor Mark Cameron. And while to reveal too much of the plot would slightly undermine the ‘mystery’ aspect, there are a lot of references to trains in the blurb, so a station setting seems likely. There’s also talk of diamonds, magic, plummeting temperatures and rising body counts… Essentially, it sounds like panto, with more blood.

As always, the venerable Ian McKellen will be providing a voiceover narration to the evening, while the hapless Inspector gets fed their lines through an earpiece and does their best not to fall off the stage. And when the show’s over, there’ll be a ‘behind the scenes’ interrogation, when the audience can grill the celebrity about the whole ridiculous experience.

This time around, the ticket prices are slightly higher to raise as much as possible for the theatre, but there’ll still be £15 day tickets available for every performance. They’re standing room only, and go on sale at 10am each day (just phone the theatre and cross your fingers). And if you’re really keen? You can also pay £15 to enter their ‘cameo ballot’. If your name’s drawn out of the hat, you’ll be called upon to come up on stage and deliver a few short – but, we’re assured, critical – lines.

Just try not to corpse.

 

NOTE: Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 3 runs at the Park Theatre from 27th March – 4th May 2024, with a different mystery guest each night. Tickets cost £57.50 – £99.50 (or £15 for standing day tickets). You can find out more, and book, HERE.

Whodunnit [Unrehearsed] 3 | Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, London N4 3JP

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