Kathy & Stella Solve A Murder! The comedy musical that will have you laughing about death – but do you know who did it?
“We don’t know what we’re doing here,” belt out Kathy Baxter and Stella Carmichael in just one of Kathy & Stella Solve A Murder’s 21 musical numbers.
It’s a thought that’s absolutely popped into every one of our brains at some point in our lives.
In contrast the creators of the iconic comedy show absolutely did know what they were doing when putting together this incredible cast of seven.
The unflappable actors flew around the Ambassador Theatre’s stage during the 2 hr 20 minutes of murder mystery.
Incredible choreography saw office chairs thrown across from one side to the other, a microphone/knife-wielding madman (or is he?) performing karaoke and at one point a friendship montage set around a full-sized swingset.
Delving into the world of amateur sleuths, a hobby on the rise in the UK to the frustration of real-life actual detectives, creators Jon Brittain and Matthew Floyd Jones put black cat/golden retriever pals Kathy (Bronté Barbé) and Stella (Rebekah Hinds) in Hull, East Yorkshire.
From Kathy’s Dad’s garage in Beverley the pair record their barely listened to murder podcast.
The classic whodunnit then sees the “very ordinary” best pals rise to stardom after finding themselves at the centre of an actual real-life murder.
You’d think singing through thick Hull accents while pulling wacky faces might dull the power of even the strongest of singers, but not for Bronté and Rebekah.
The strength of their vocals, especially Rebekah’s, weaved between awe-inspiring to provoking fits of laughter in milliseconds.
Though a bedazzled Hannah-Jane Fox plays murder author star Felicia Taylor, Felicia’s sister Patricia AND brother Horatio with brilliant comedic timing, her voice lets her down.
Her wordy monologues, performed through song, are at times difficult to understand – in contrast to the clarity of her co-stars.
The musical addresses the obvious moral issues with amateur murder solving and an obsession with death in general.
Yet it also acknowledges the very real sense of belonging and community these kinds of documentaries and podcasts can offer people – “it’s nice to hear about lives we’re glad we’re not living,” as Kathy reveals through song.
In a world where it’s so easy to feel out like an outsider, this musical invites you in. Do you know who did it?
Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder!
★★★★
Ambassadors Theatre, London