In 1984, a show that would go on to be one of the most long-running successes in television history almost didn’t happen. The starlet the show was written for turned it down, leaving producers scrambling for answers, until one Angela Lansbury stepped into the role that would cement her status as an icon and change the murder mystery landscape forever.
‘Murder, She Wrote’ deserves a dramatic conception to match its delicious tension and twisted storylines that have captivated fans for years. In Australia, its television debut opened up a paradise for one superfan whose enthusiasm has never blinked.
“I was obsessed with Agatha Christie as a child,” Tim Benzie recounts. “I read all of her books by the time I turned 14. The first Christie book I read was likely ‘The Clocks’. There wasn't Poirot or Marple on TV yet in Australia, but then ‘Murder, She Wrote’ happened. It was perfect and I loved it. Jessica Fletcher is an amazing character because she’s an author like Agatha Christie, but she also solved mysteries, so I was absolutely wrapped.”
Now an award-winning playwright, Benzie longed to share his passion with audiences in a revolutionary new format – an interactive solve-along stage show built inside the world of an episode. Many sold-out shows and episodes later, 'Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote' is returning to Australia exploring the eminent episode ‘A Fashionable Way To Die’.
“There’s 264 episodes of ‘Murder, She Wrote’,” Benzie showcases the tip of his wealth of knowledge that features in each show. “When picking ones for my show, there's a couple of criteria. It needs to fit the format, which involves solving it together, and the Fameometer and the Suspiciometer. There are some very unique episodes, say where Jessica’s a juror and there's only one suspect, so it doesn't really fit. Some episodes are fantastic, but they just don't fit the format.”
“This particular episode I’m doing, ‘A Fashionable Way To Die’ is set in Paris. . . Paris firmly in inverted commas, because ‘Murder She Wrote’ never did anything on location,” Benzie laughs. “It’s a dubious Paris, but it's a brilliant episode where she visits a designer friend. I've done it at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, it's really sharp and funny and ridiculous.”
Benzie has intentionally designed every element of the stage show for maximum mystery, enjoyment and laughs, incorporating his creations – the Fameometer and the Suspiciometer.
“We start the show by ranking the guest stars on the Fameometer by least famous to most famous. This is because the producers of ‘Murder, She Wrote’ previously worked on a show called 'Ellery Queen', which didn't last very long because the most famous guest star was always the murderer. Audiences worked this out very fast and stopped watching the show. So with ‘Murder, She Wrote’, the producers were very clear it wasn't going to be the same. Sometimes the murderer is a new actor, sometimes they’re from the Golden Age.”
Image © David Bartholomew
“The Suspiciometer happens after someone has died. At the start of the show, everyone is given a paddle to wave if they see something suspicious, and then I move the faces on the Suspiciometer. It's a fun way of solving it collectively and collaboratively and it's very silly and low-key. You don't have to participate if you don't want to,” Benzie reassures. “My show’s very nice.”
Full of trivia, actor biographies, backstage tales taller than life and campy jokes, the stage show is a non-stop laugh-fest through the history of a wonderful show. Having performed it in various iterations countless times across the world, Benzie is excited to bring it back to Australia.
“I did the show in Sydney for the first time at the Sydney Cabaret Festival a number of years ago, and I make sure that each trip I do, I bring a different episode. It's my first time at Darling Quarter Theatre and my first time doing this particular episode. I have fans, I call them Fangelas, who come to every show at a particular venue, some even dress up as Jessica. People always look amazing. It’s also great for me because it keeps it fresh and fun for me all the time.”
Benzie finds touring the show fascinating, as each culture responds with their own unique flavour, although they all leave with the same big grins on their faces.
“I took the show to America last year, to San Francisco and the ‘Murder, She Wrote’ festival, in Mendocino. Mendocino is the location shoot for Cabot Cove, which is Jessica’s home. I was a little nervous about how Americans might take my weird sense of humour and my take on the show, but they absolutely loved it. I had to change a couple of jokes, but mostly they were just joyous.”
“Australian audiences are obviously amazing and ridiculous. And English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish audiences are all the same – rowdier and more boozy and enthusiastic than you would possibly imagine. The English have a reputation for being reserved, but get them in a theatre in a slightly participatory thing and they go nuts.”
Having loved the show for such a long time, one wonders which character’s shoes Benzie would most like to slip into.
“I think it would have to be Jessica, although I’m not sure how it would go since I’m six foot four and I've got a grey beard,” Benzie laughs joyfully. “To be honest, one of my favourite characters really is Seth Hazlett, the doctor in Cabot Cove. He's her best friend and he’s a cook and he's a bit curmudgeonly, but he's her best friend and he's really funny.”
“He's also a huge supporter of Jess and totally trusts her instincts. Because she's an older woman and it’s filmed half in the '80s, half in the '90s, men on the show constantly patronise her, so Jessica cops a lot of sexist and ageist nonsense. But she doesn't get that from Seth, so I think I’d like to play Seth.”
Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote Australia 2026 Tour Dates
13 February – Brisbane Powerhouse
20 February – Darling Quarter Theatre (Sydney)
26 February – Rechabite Theatre (Perth)
6 March – Capitol Theatre (Melbourne)
