11th April Solve along a murder she wrote

Hands up any Jessica Fletcher superfans reading this today. Oh well, no worries I'll carry on anyway. On Friday night TOM and I had yet another theatrical adventure, this time at the Pomegranate in Chesterfield to watch / participate in Solve Along a Murder She Wrote, based on the popular TV show of the same name.

In the Hall of Fame of great solvers of murders and mysteries, alongside such names as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot and Scooby Doo, the name of J. B. Fletcher must surely reside,  Portrayed by Angela Lansbury, the retired English teacher turned bestselling mystery novelist, Jessica Fletcher, somehow managed to unravel the truth in an almost unbelievable 264 episodes between 1984 and 1996. And even more unbelievably continues to live on long after the shows demise thanks to unending repeats that have managed to capture a whole new generation of fans in the process.

The evening was hosted by self confessed super fan, Tim Benzie, who at various points during the show appeared dressed in various Jessica Fletcher guises, which given he is well over 6ft tall, possesses a paunch and sports a beard, just added to the fun.  Revolving around watching an episode of the show projected onto a giant screen, we the audience had to try to solve the whodunnit using the same clues that our famous crime writing slueth. Would we be as good as Jessica was the question?

At various points during the 47 minute TV episode, the film was halted, with Tim Benzie making jokes or pointing out fluffs and continuity errors in the filming.  Audience participation was required for amongst other things to see if we actually recognised any of the actors and thus their level of fame or to conduct an ongoing 'suspicionometer' as to who we thought was the murderer by waving out Jessica Fletcher paper lollipops in the air. Pink ballons were also required to be inflated and waved and party poppers popped at various moments in the show. You really had to be there.

Given that there was what looked like a group of women on a rather drunken girls night out it went without saying that the evening was a roaring success. It didn't really matter if you knew anything about Murder She Wrote, unlike some of the audience who had actually come dressed as Jessica Fletcher and who demonstrated ther knowledge during the quiz part way through the show. 

It was a great, occasionally rather camp night out, and with over 260 episodes to work with, Tim Benzie certainly has plenty of potential material with which he could revisit Cabot Cove over and over again. But perhaps how neither TOM or I didn't realised that the typewriter on stage was in fact just made of fold away cardboard remains the biggest unsolved mystery of all. Where is Jessica Fletcher when you need her!!