The improvised whodunnit and many-year Edinburgh Fringe favourite, Murder, She Didn’t Write, is returning to The Duchess Theatre in London’s West End with three new dates in 2025. This cleverly comedic show will see improv legends Degrees of Error perform an entirely improvised murder mystery each night. These new dates follow a sell-out West End debut earlier this year, as part of their smash hit UK tour.
In this ingenious show, the audience becomes the author as a classic Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery is written live. With seven sell-out Fringe runs behind them, the extraordinarily talented company perform an ensemble of brightly coloured characters, with the murderer and victim selected by an audience member, in a fresh take on the improv format. From a poisoning at a synchronised swimming gala, to being crushed to death during a Love Island recoupling, this incredible quick-witted cast use humour to turn nonsensical story lines into a hilarious and unique show every time.
The rotating cast includes director Lizzy Skrzypiec (Questions Producer, The Wheel and Bridge of Lies, BBC; Reservoir Mogs, The Wardrobe Theatre), Rachael Procter-Lane (Closer Each Day: The Improvised Soap Opera, The Wardrobe Theatre; Murder at the Circus Bristol Old Vic), Caitlin Campbell (Wardrobe Theatre’s Rocky Shock Horror, UK Tour; Drac & Jill, UK Tour), Peter Baker (Only Fools and Horses, West End; Snow White, UK Tour), Stephen Clements (Tales of Adventure, Bristol Improv Theatre; Shadows Over Improv, Bristol Improv Theatre), DouglasWalker (Of Christmas Past, UK Tour; The Visit, The National Theatre), and Sylvia Bishop (This is Your Musical, Bristol Improv Theatre; Impromptu Shakespeare, Bristol Improv Theatre).
We sat down with the brilliant Peter Baker (they/them) to learn more.
What can you tell me about Murder, She Didn’t Write?
Murder, She Didn’t Write is an improvised murder mystery, lovingly inspired by Agatha Christie and the Golden Age of detective fiction. It’s farcical, dramatic and completely different every time.
What first drew you to Degrees Of Error?
I’d heard of Murder, She Didn’t Write but was, at that point, yet to see it. Prior to becoming an actor, I worked as a creative executive for the Agatha Christie estate, doing such things as developing global publishing, artwork, multimedia content etc, so I was drawn to the concept of the show and it was very much on my list! I then did a short film with Lizzy Skrzypiec (our show director) and she suggested I audition for the company. I told her I’d never done improv before, but she must have seen something in me that suggested I had an aptitude for it. I remember being very nervous in the workshop audition, but also absolutely loving it. I was thrilled to be picked for their Edinburgh run and they now can’t get shot of me!
Having been part of the company for 10 years, how do you feel you’ve grown in that time?
I feel I’ve grown immeasurably as an improviser since joining the company. I did lots of improv training in my first few months, learning the vernacular, skills and different forms of impro from the company members and visiting lecturers at The Bristol Improv Theatre, which used to be our home. I also discovered I could be funny! Coming from an acting background, initially I felt my strengths as a performer were stagecraft, emotion and narrative, but I soon gained confidence as a comedic actor and discovered how much joy is brought to an audience by purely having fun.
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| Photo by Pamela Raith Photography |
What is your pre-show preparation like when you have no script and no idea how the show will pan out?
The best way to prepare for a show like ours is by connecting with each other and playing a variety of warm-up games. Lively games like “big bunny” to get our energy up, rhyming games to get our brains working and focus games to get us in sync with each other. We also like to do some “crusty mustard” scenes, so called because in order to get to the good mustard, ie: the show, we need to scrape through the crusty bits. Sometimes, we have ushers in the theatre while we’re warming up and I wonder if they think we’re a bit mad.
Having seen the show recently in Northampton I know just how excellent it is, have you had any particular stand out moments from your time with the show?
Ah, thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! We’ve had so many great shows and suggestions that it becomes quite hard to keep track of them. I think doing an improv show is like doing an exam – you do lots of work for it, then forget everything once it’s done. Saying that, I do have some personal memorable moments:
I started a show with a Birmingham accent once and my scene partner had a cockney accent. When the lights cut back to us in our opening scene, I accidentally started copying her accent. This led to the detective standing up and endowing me with having “wandering accent syndrome” - I ended up doing 16 different accents throughout the show, which was a great gift all born out of a mistake!
How do you manage to throw away ideas that you know have worked previously?
Luckily, the temptation to recycle an idea or joke is practically non-existent, particularly as we build our world from audience suggestions, which we can never predict. The only challenge we might be faced with is if the event is one we’ve done a few times. We never like to repeat ourselves, so we have to try to think of new ways to do a Tupperware Party, which seems to be an unusually popular audience suggestion this tour.
How do you manage to throw away ideas that you know have worked previously?
Luckily, the temptation to recycle an idea or joke is practically non-existent, particularly as we build our world from audience suggestions, which we can never predict. The only challenge we might be faced with is if the event is one we’ve done a few times. We never like to repeat ourselves, so we have to try to think of new ways to do a Tupperware Party, which seems to be an unusually popular audience suggestion this tour.
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| Photo by Pamela Raith Photography |
How do you reflect on the success of the show as it’s just announced further dates in the West End?
It is truly heartwarming to see the show reaching these new audiences and playing such beautiful venues. We’ve had faith in our show for years, so seeing the tour be embraced so well is very rewarding and humbling.
What was the first piece of theatre you saw that had a big impact on you?
I remember being floored seeing Dark Vanilla Jungle, a one-woman show written a one-woman show written by Philip Ridley. I was struck by the strength of thestorytelling, the efficient simplicity of the staging and the stellar performance by Gemma Whelan.
What keeps you inspired?
I genuinely adore doing this show. I get to work with my friends, indulge my creative side making a new narrative each night, play different characters each show, do incredibly convincing (and only very rarely ridiculous) accents, and witness my colleagues be brilliant. It really is a gift. Outside of the show, I’m a voracious reader, and like to pepper my reading with books that may help the show, such as my current read: Poisonous Plants in Great Britain!
What do you hope an audience takes away from seeing the show?
That a rollicking good time has been had. I also hope they come away thinking “how did they just do that?” and wanting to come see it again. A great thing about our show is that we get so many repeat audiences. I think the second time they come, people want to see if it really is improvised, and when they realise it is, they then come back for the pure enjoyment and intrigue of seeing who we’ll be next time and what murderous mayhem will ensue!
Murder, She Didn’t Write tours throughout 2025 and into 2026. Visit https://www.murdershedidntwrite.com/tour-dates for full tour details.
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| Photo by Pamela Raith Photography |
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