Murder On The Not-So Orient Express | Mystify Events
After an unexpected halt to the May season due to covid, Murder On The Not-So Orient Express relocated for new shows at the Old Jojo’s Restaurant pop up space run by Anywhere. We were led into an intimate set of a train carriage, with two rows of chairs on either side of a main set facing towards each other. We were told we were aboard a train set for Brisbane, and proceeded to meet a handful of quirky characters: Leon Payne the prison guard who insisted he had the prisoners' best interests at heart (Chris Kellett), William Baker the prisoner claiming his innocence (Ben Bartholomew), Ruth Wallace the woman with a missing husband and lots of questions (Abby O'Brien), Lucille Schmidt the writer (Siobhan Robertson), and my personal favourite, Bernard Walters the hilariously peculiar lawyer (Amelia Slatter).
All actors were fully committed to their roles, staying well in character during improvised interactions with the audience members. Abby O'Brien particularly shined in her interactions with patrons, always reacting and responding to the audience charmingly and without hesitation. The story, written by Siobhan, had all the tangled storyline fun of a classic absurd crime mystery, with lots of crossovers with the pasts of the passengers, and a plot full of exciting twists and turns. Audience members were inserted into the show by the actors, taken out of their seats and placed right into the action. The cast were skilled at picking these people, and moving on quickly if someone seemed hesitant to be thrown into the spotlight.
On arrival we were given train tickets that doubled as prompts for interactions with the show. Some people were given props and moments to reveal them, others were given instructions to yell things or disrupt the actions of the actors in some way. My cards gave me instructions to boo someone, and accuse a hidden figure of being one of the characters, while my friend was given a prop and a sound effect. These were fun additions to the show and I think these individual specific instructions are a great way to make audiences comfortable with the idea of interacting with the characters and the show if this kind of theatre is new to them, as it gives them explicit permission to break the fourth wall.
I really enjoyed this show, and think it’s a great example of interactive theatre. I’d recommend it to someone who is interested in the idea of performance that involves the audience, but isn’t quite comfortable or ready to be fully immersed in a production that gives them too much autonomy. Immersive theatre has gained popularity over recent years and I think it is in a lot of ways the exciting new thing that companies want to explore. Murder On The Not So Orient Express, while interactive, still had a few elements of traditional theatre that perhaps didn’t allow it to reach it’s full immersive potential. Being seated throughout the show felt like it created a bit of an emotional barrier for the audience, and it took a little while before the audience seemed at ease to interact. I think immersive theatre is at it’s best when you feel like you have been pulled into a new world, and while the characters were great at achieving that, some more standing and exploring time may have aided in making this experience more immersive.
That being said, I really enjoyed the show, and I think with more time to explore the possibilities of the space and unscripted content, this could evolve into something more reflective of its advertised “fully immersive theatre show”. Murder On The Not-So Orient Express is a delightful and engaging show, and I look forward to seeing what they do next.
