2017 Edinburgh Fringe

Interview

Lizzy Skrzypiec, the director of the Murder, She Didn't Write improv shows, answers some questions...

What's the weirdest murder scenario you've found yourself investigating?

The weirdest scenario we've investigated would probably be one of our drag Murder, She Didn't Write shows. We sometimes do gender swapped versions of our show, this Edinburgh they'll be on every Sunday at 11pm. In this show the audience gave us the event of the moon landing for the murder to take place. So there we were, in full period costumes, with full period set, re-creating the moon landing about fifty years earlier than they actually happened. Miss Scarlet was the captain (Captain Scarlet), I was Dr Gold and I think the navigator (Officer Green) was killed on board the spaceship. He was found covered in leaves in the docking station by the rest of the crew. The leaves were put there to fool us by the murderer- they were a plant!

Why are Brits so obsessed with murder mysteries?

I think there's something about the intellectual puzzle of a crime to solve mixed with the gloss of high society or period drama. Agatha Christie's murder mysteries are the golden age of detective stories: intricate, motive-led and delightfully escapist. You know that phrase "you're most likely to be murdered by someone you know": that's what makes a murder a good catalyst for some scrumptious drama when it happens to a group of people who know each other.

I also think we have a bit of national pride when it comes to murder mysteries in that we not only write a great murder but also make TV crime dramas exceedingly well. Sherlock, Luther, Broadchurch all have huge audiences. Sherlock is the most watched show on Netflix worldwide! We have a proud literary heritage and impressive TV presence with the genre.

If you could be any detective for a day, who would you be and what would you solve?

Well, after banging on about how good British murder mysteries are I would probably pick my favourite American detective duo Maddie Hayes and David Addison, played by Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis in Moonlighting. It's an odd choice I'll admit but I think they had a real glamour to their crime solving. I also love how they used to break the fourth wall and chat directly to camera. If I were the feisty femme Maddie Hayes I'd probably solve a case involving a gun, big jewellery, silk dresses, a will-they-won't-they kiss and witty banter.

Actually my Dad is a retired detective and has brought my brother and I in to the police station for work experience: I got caught trying on all the riot gear and my brother handcuffed himself to an office chair. So perhaps it's best that I keep my detective work on the stage.