Murder mystery evenings are great fun for all concerned. As an actor, it’s scary but satisfying to mingle with the audience and match your wits against theirs; for the audience, it’s great to try and work out who did it, and why; for the hall committee, it’s a great fundraiser, although maybe the cooks aren’t having quite as much fun as everyone else. I’ve written several of these, including one for young people- there was a Big Takeover Weekend, where youth groups put on activities in venues all over Lerwick, and the library group wanted to do a murder. This photograph shows members of Brenna Players performing in Hoods, Molls and Murder.

The idea is simple: you have a play with several short scenes, and between scenes the audience are fed a delicious meal, and the actors come out and chat with them. After the second-last scene the audience gets a chance to ask questions, and then fill in the form guessing who did it. The final scene tells them who really did. These plays could also be used as a one-act play.

The opening scenes of several of these plays are available in the members’ area. As with the other plays, I’d be delighted if you want to use them – please contact me for the full script. I also have background information for the characters and prompts for conversation with audience etc.