Solid Improv That Follows an Improbable Murder, Well Delivered
Crime Scene Improvisation returns for its 10th year at the Fringe. This group of performers show their experience, with clever, quickly thought out plots and characters that provide plenty of laughs.
The premise is simple: we choose a name, occupation and murder weapon, and then the group of performers create a piece that leads to finding out who the murderer is. Enter the case of Pluto Jones, an aquascapist who was murdered with a giant nicotine patch. The plot quickly became utterly bizarre, as a group of various “scapers” with planetary names form our base of suspects. At the end, we are left to choose who we think was the murderer.
The piece was well acted by each party, and very funny throughout. The perpetual use of the word “Cuban” was a fun highlight, along with the poorly named Uranus who was bullied for exactly what you’d think. The actors come at us with conviction and understand each other very well. They bounce off each other to create a caper that is so surreal, it is baffling to see how they reach a conclusion. Yet, they manage to and somehow it kind of (although not entirely) makes sense. They plant enough in the story to help assign guilt to one of the parties.
We are guided through the investigation by our fellow detective, who pauses the action and pushes the plot forward. This adds a formulaic note to the show that stops it from truly embracing how different it could really be each night. It also stops the flow of some of the scenes that could have been pushed further. Of course there is the time pressure of the Fringe hour, but it is just as much fun seeing improvisers scramble to some kind of conclusion in the face of five minutes to curtains as having a timekeeper in the show.
This is a fun Improvisation show, created and acted by some really talented performers. After ten years of making audiences laugh, it still goes strong, although it is maybe in need of some reinvention to find a fresh footing.
Show Listing: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/csi-crime-scene-improvisation
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Venue: Ermintrude at Underbelly, Bristo Square
Dates: 8th – 23rd August
Time: 15.10
Ticket prices: £14.00 / concessions £13.00
Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com
Suitable for 12+ (Restriction)