Comedy Review - Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit
Images courtesy of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
She died like I never could…
…laughing!
David Massingham’s Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit is a hilarious standout at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Murder Village returns to transport us all to a 1950s Agatha Christie-esque world filled to the brim with larger than life, quintessentially British characters (and a French detective). You’re immediately pulled into the drama - quite literally - as prior to entering you’re asked to scan a QR code and vote towards important decisions for that night, including choosing a murderer, a victim, a murder weapon, and even the event. This not only ensures that each night will be a completely different show, but sets the audience up neatly for their later role in the performance.
Our show centred around four members of the town, all with their own good reasons to murder the victim; cash-strapped philanthropist Dame Queenie Bee (Amy Moule), bumbling ex-mayor Bartholomew Fuzz, stern headmistress Clarinda Pleasant, and vibrant former wartime entertainer Marion Kind. To tie it all together, the only police officer in town - Detector Inspector Owen Gullet (David Massingham) - begrudgingly teams up with Lliam Amor’s visiting detective Monsieur Aragon Pewter (a walking French stereotype), to solve the crime with the help of the audience, or as Gullet refers to us, his “orange-fed orphans who have delivered him a summary of what happened on the night of the murder”. The two detectives serve as joint narrators, as they prompt the performers portraying the hours leading up to the murder, cleverly incorporating real-life interruptions like the construction sounds outside (classic Melbourne).
The cast’s performance was a spectacular act in improvisational comedy. Their character work was immensely detailed, weaving together an engaging storyline filled with not only genuine laugh-out-loud moments, but heart wrenching literal ‘AWWWWW’ inducing ones as well. Clever callbacks to earlier scenes felt so effortless and natural, I almost forgot it was improvised. But rest assured, with over 100 characters in the Murder Village cannon, and a rotating cast of more than 20 of Melbourne’s best improvisers, this is most definitely a class act in dedication and spontaneity.
So if you’re a fan of improv so good it’s borderline suspicious, classic British vibes, homegrown comedians, and an introvert-approved method of audience interaction, then Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit is simply the show to watch (more than once) this MICF season.
4.5 out of 5 bribery oranges.
Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit is on at the 2026 Melbourne International Comedy Festival between the 26 of March and the 19th of April. For tickets and more info, click here.