What would a good, old-fashioned English murder mystery be like without an elderly detective on hand to decipher the clues and doll out the accusations? A damn sight less sexy, that’s for sure.
Brisbane’s premier improvised theatre company ImproMafia presents Murder Village underground in the historic Spring Hill Reservoirs. The reservoirs’ crumbling masonry and time-worn archways are almost as old as this off-the-cuff mystery’s dishy detective, octogenarian Enid Purser.
Turning heads with her coarse tartan ensemble and her sensible, hard-wearing shoes, Miss Purser will be on hand each night to solve a mystery created on the spot from the audience’s suggestions by Brisbane’s best improvisers.
Murder VillageBut Miss Purser is just the latest in a long line of saucy sleuths who stop time just as often as they stop crimes. Here are ImproMafia’s top 5 dreamiest senior sleuths.
1. Hercule Poirot – Agatha Christie
An exotic flower direct from Belgium. With impeccably groomed moustaches and a pleasingly egg-shaped bod (he’s certainly put in the work!), Hercule Poirot can whisper sweet nothings in French to us any day. It is no surprise to hear that when Poirot stepped onto the Orient Express, EVERYBODY did it: we’ll leave it up to you guess what “it” was!Swoon rating: 4/5 little grey cells
2. Jessica Fletcher – Murder She Wrote
She also wrote the book on style. The stories that just one of Jessica’s inquisitive stares can tell will keep your imagination running for hours. The real question of this whodunnit is, “who stole your heart?”Swoon rating: 4/5 magnifying glasses
3. Dr. Mark Sloan – Diagnosis: Murder
When you come down with a case of the love sickness, there’s only one man you want on call. We love a man in uniform, and Dr. Mark Sloan’s lab coat and stethoscope ensemble is yum-yum-YUMMY. This doctor has always got your diagnosis: little do you know, though, that he’s the cure.Swoon rating: 3.5/5 stethoscopes
4. Horace Rumpole – Rumpole of the Bailey
The barrister who puts the 'Old' into 'Old Bailey'. When Rumpole takes charge in the court room, there’s no denying his sexual electricity. Even if your head says no, there’s no overruling your heart: it knows that Rumpy’s got it going on.Swoon rating: 3.5/5 gavels
5. Miss Jane Marple – Agatha Christie
The one, the only; murder fiction’s pre-eminent pin-up. Miss Marple is always on fleek. With dreamy cardigan and eye bags to die for, this ain’t no plain Jane. A murder would have to be most foul indeed to distract us from this vision in plaid.Swoon rating: 5/5 freshly brewed cups of tea
Murder Village takes place at Spring Hill Reservoirs (Brisbane) 17 June, 23 June and 1 July.
