Colchester Fringe Festival 2024
CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation
The Chandeliers
Genre: Comedy, Improvised Theatre, Physical Comedy
Venue: Headgate Theatre
Festival: Colchester Fringe Festival
Low Down
CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation is in its tenth year and anyone who has seen these seasoned comedians perform knows that it’s well deserved.
Review
Who knew murder could be so fun?
CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation sees audiences suggest the victim’s name, their occupation, and how they died. From there, the crime scene investigators… sorry improvisers… assume the role of various suspects. We’re introduced to each character and their potential motives through short vignettes. In the end, it is up to the audience to decide whodunnit. It’s a great structure for repeated hilarity. The show is going on its 10th year and it does not take a great detective to figure out why.
In our show, it was Milton Quinlock, Oyster Shucker, who died in his own bed sheets after being steamed alive (like a dumpling). A gruesome death, but a perfect set-up for great jokes. Unsurprisingly, there were many jokes about shucking in all kinds of people, places, and things. James Cann was the MC/moderator of the improvisation, helping the performers to draw out new suspicious character traits and provide more backstory. I could see him just off-stage diligently taking notes on all the absurdist oyster-themed improvisation. He treats his improvisation as a structured craft which made the evening run like a smooth oyster shell.
The shows cast varies day to day, but this performance featured Lee Apsey, Kayleigh Cassidy, Isabelle Glinn, and cast newcomer Mandeep Singh. Each of them had a phenomenal performance and had their own individual moments to shine. It was impressive to see such creativity on display. The cast plays off one another, listening for the smallest details to push the other performers in their characterizations and extracting the best jokes possible.
The joy (and problem) with improvisation shows is that the comedy is made up on the spot. Not all the jokes landed and some bits and characterizations were funnier than others. That said, the investigators were quick to react to the audience. If something did not work, they focused on the bits that did to help the show reach a great climax. If you love improvised comedy, crime, and murder, this is the perfect bundle. And even better, everything that happened during this performance will be entirely different for yours, keeping the show fresh for new and returning audience members. Many audience members commented that they planned on seeing the next performance for that reason. It’s the secret to success: a great structure, a great rotating cast of investigators, and a fresh murder each night.
