ED FRINGE 2023 REVIEW: Highly Suspect UK's Murder at The Movies ★★★★

There was a moment during Murder at The Movies, one of two Highly Suspect UK shows up at the Fringe this year, when a young child went, 'this is the coolest thing', and for the most part, I couldn't agree more with them. Upon entering the room allocated for the show, I was struck by the overhead lighting being a constant light source for the show, but it soon made sense, as MATM is part play, but mostly an experience which puts you in the heart of the story, where evidence packs are handed out to teams of your choosing, to investigate a murder in the production team of a film.

Too much information here may spoil parts of the show, but the Highly Suspect ensemble on stage delivers the premise and short interludes between investigating with aplomb; their endearing nature gives warmth to the case, as we're allowed to be vocal and have a good time making accusations against each suspect, with a team of sleuths on the front row who were very enthusiastic and had a wonderful time. Could the puzzles be a little too difficult for the younger members of the audience? From this performance, there were a few fidgets during the Interactive moments, but in the grand scheme of Murder Mystery Solving and Edinburgh Fringe as a whole, no show has ever brought so much enjoyment to many, and when you as a room come together and discuss your theories as a whole community, that's the very spirit of what the fringe is all about.