There’s a specific type of improv show for everyone. One that sates the exact cravings of an exact audience member. For me, it’s murder mystery improv.
I was lucky enough to snag one of the last tickets to Farce Onion: A Spoons Out Mystery, directed by Ryan Knighton and Stevie Hancox-Monk. Both of Tiny Dog fame, I was excited to see what they’d cook up with a more structured format.
From the second we walk in, we see Jennifer O’Sullivan and Brendon Bennetts inviting the audience in, guiding them to their seats. They laugh amongst each other, talk amongst the guests, and display a fizzing chemistry that doesn’t die down for the entire show.
Our performers are introduced and the suggestion of ‘Paris Opera House’ is given. Immediately, Emma Maguire brings out her chalk and starts wrriting it out on the walls of the stage. The audience is fascinated by this. We didn’t know that was allowed. Everyone leans in.
The cast is split into three groups: the aforementioned detectives (O’Sullivan and Bennetts), a series of colourful characters (Anna Renzenbrink, Dylan Hutton, Mark Grimes, Rik Brown and Tara McEntee), and two supporting superstars (Emma Maguire and Austin Harrison) who are ready to jump in as needed for anything, including timekeeping and fact-recording.
The performer’s characters are created based on quick-fire questions fired by the rest of the cast. All of them are inspired by the initial Parisian Opera House prompt, and within a few questions each, strong personalities emerge. The audience then votes on who will die.
I initially feel sad for Hutton, who is killed off after a short delay with the lights. The pity soon wears off as the two detectives interview each chracter and they bring Hutton back on-stage for re-enactments at the time of the murder. He’s a constant delight in every scene, portraying a chipper kiwi bloke who happens to find himself in France. He reps Aotearoa hard throughout the show to the delight of the audience.
The suspects present (or rather, improvise) their alibis as airtightly as they possibly can. Brown dominates every scene he’s in with a strong voice and aggressive energy. Even when he’s playing a softer version of his character, he still comes across as menacing. McEntee follows up with hilarious character work and great offers to whomever she’s with on stage. It’s clear that everyone is game for whatever she suggests, and she’s more than happy to play up jokes set up by other players. Mark Grimes brings the clues in, pushing the narrative of the murder forward, always adding elements of the murder weapon (it’s a hot dog). He ends up forming a very soft bond with Hutton, despite his character refusing to really admit it. Renzenbrink really sells us on the setting with her impressive French fluency. She flits from alibi to alibi as the prop master (mistress?), adding levity and charm wherever she goes.
It’s Maguire and Harrison that really sell the show for me. Maguire takes on the monumental task of recording every single detail that gets yes anded as the show develops, and soon the back of the stage looks like a conspiracy theorist’s living room. It’s a task that doesn’t go unnoticed. Harrison appears in every scene he’s needed in, mostly playing animals that get casually mentioned by the suspects. His timing is flawless, to the point that he steps out of character briefly to remind the detectives that time is of the essence, and also that the show is running out of time.
The chemistry between O’Sullivan and Bennetts is great. As pseudo-hosts of the show, when things go wrong, it looks like it falls on them, and they take these moments with pure awkward joy. Lights don’t quite work as intended, scripted elements such as the hidden letters get a little bit lost. Nothing ever shakes these two, nor their confidence in each other. They keep the show running, and look great doing so. The audience cheers when they unmask the murderer, even though we all know they couldn’t possibly be wrong.
Farce Onion: A Spoons Out Mystery delivers the exact combination of chaos and mystery that I want to see in an improvised crime show. The cast is hilarious, the structure is engaging and it really plays itself up to be the best of a farce. There’s a feast of talent on display here, just waiting to be savoured.
Spoons out, I’m digging in.
Disclosure: As a somewhat active member of the Wellington improv community, I am quite familiar with some of the performers in this show.
Having said that, I am not a liar, and there is zero bias in my reviews, shut up.