“joyful, silly and a whole lot of fun – Even if you wouldn’t normally consider yourself a Jessica Fletcher superfan, let Benzie lead you through her world“
****
Tim Benzie brings his cult crime-solving spectacle to Edinburgh, complete with “state-of-the-art” suspicion-o-meter technology and a flurry of semi-seamless costume changes. It’s the sort of last-minute Fringe gold you congratulate yourself for stumbling across.
Be under no illusion: this isn’t an adaptation, musical version or modern retelling of ‘Murder She Wrote’. This is a full and unabridged episode, projected in a repurposed lecture hall. If you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to have a fabulous tour guide lead you though an episode of a classic 80s television, this is one way to find out.
Benzie himself is a delight. His devotion to the series is palpable, and his encyclopedic knowledge comes wrapped in a mixture of wry delivery and sincere enthusiasm. I’ve never willingly sat through an episode of the original, but under his watch I found myself utterly charmed by this studio-lit world of pearls, big hair and bigger melodrama. The homespun quality of Benzie’s production only adds to the fun – part sleepover, part pub quiz, part lip-synched soap opera.
Audience involvement the name of the game: FINGO (French bingo, naturally) had us yelling over eachother, while the couture-rating segments sparked some glorious group heckling. Benzie lip-syncs the most overwrought moments with perfect poise, pausing to give due reverence to supporting actors and, of course, the indomitable Angela Lansbury herself.
What’s most impressive is the atmosphere he creates. In a makeshift venue, with a patchwork of props and an 80s TV relic on screen, Benzie conjures a genuine party. It feels joyful, silly and a whole lot of fun – Even if you wouldn’t normally consider yourself a Jessica Fletcher superfan, let Benzie lead you through her world.
Tim Benzie: Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote
TheSpace @ Symposium Hall
20:15 | 31 Jul – 24 Aug
Tim Benzie: Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote ****
Published on
Edinburgh Fringe 2025 
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