Freddie Haberfellner
A stormy night in a queer little town, and a dead body discovered on the floor of the library after a party. Putting a queer spin on your classic murder mystery, A Queer Little Murder offers audience interaction, six suspicious lesbians and a different ending every night.
Most of us will be familiar with the slogan ‘Be gay, do crime’. Whilst its origins lie in queer anarchism, it also lends itself perfectly to this show. There certainly is something very refreshing in experiencing a play where every character is queer but the story doesn’t revolve around their queerness but, rather, around the fact that one of them is a killer.
We meet murder mystery enthusiast and soft masc lesbian Tryhard (yes, that’s her name), portrayed – as every character in this one-person show – by Savannah Hankinson. Whilst the venue was experiencing technical difficulties on the day, Hankinson did not seem thrown by this and managed to set the mood without the aid of lighting.
In typical murder mystery fashion, we start with the discovery of the body before going back in time to uncover what may have happened. We meet a total of six different characters, all portrayed by Hanksinon who switches between them with impressive speed and accuracy, displaying an impressive range of physicality and detailed characterisation. Whilst I felt that her Irish and Ukrainian accents weren’t fully convincing, there can be no doubt that Hankinson is a very talented character actor.
We learn that Tryhard booked a get-away on a very gay island following a rough break-up. But from her arrival nothing goes as planned; the room she booked isn’t actually available as the house is hosting a very exclusive party, and to make matters worse, one of the party guests is Tryhard’s ex-girlfriend.
One thing leads to another and, by morning, one of the queer women staying in the house is found dead by Tryhard herself. It’s at this point our host asks the audience for their opinion on who the suspect may be. Following that, everyone is encouraged to close their eyes and raise their hand when the name of their prime suspect is called.
What happened next genuinely surprised me; the murderer is not predetermined but chosen based on which of the characters receives the most votes. It is, as such, a court of public opinion, and the truth becomes whatever the majority believes. Especially in a queer show that is a really interesting set-up, however I don’t think it was intended as social commentary as it wasn’t explored further in the show.
As such, the fact that the majority vote was going to determine the murderer really sucked any suspense out of the rest of the show because we knew the murderer would be caught and no one else would be murdered. It would have been far more effective to still ask the audience but have a pre-determined murderer, and actual consequences – more death – if we got it wrong.
There was also a rather strange moment mid-show where Hankinson broke character to tell us that their real-life girlfriend was in the audience. Especially given the fact that her main character Tryhard was going through a break-up this really broke the tension and felt rather unprofessional.
Overall, A Queer Little Murder has a very strong concept and potential but suffers in its execution. Changing the structure and tweaking some of the character work could make this a really strong murder mystery.
Recommended Drink: A glass of champagne – as one of the characters consumes throughout the play – or perhaps a whiskey, neat.
You can catch A Queer Little Murder at Coorie @ Gilded Balloon Patter House August 5 – 31 (not 19) at 15:40 (60 minutes). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Issy Cory
Lola Rose Wood
Isobel Jacob
