Murder-On-The-Lake At The Shaw Festival
Murder-on-the-Lake, the improvised mystery now gracing the stage at Shaw’s Royal George Theatre, presents a conundrum. How do you “review” a show that, by design, varies radically from performance to performance?
The answer, I think, is that you don’t. Instead, I will attempt to describe this entertainment in such a way that you will be able to determine whether it will suit your taste. There will be no “spoilers” here. Everything I reveal is revealed in the opening moments of Murder-on-the-Lake.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Murder-on-the-Lake, devised by Rebecca Northan (Blind Date, The Apple Cart) and Bruce Horak (so compelling in Wait Until Dark) is a completely improvised murder mystery in which a “detective” is chosen from the audience and set the task of figuring out whodunnit.
Don’t worry that you will be dragged on stage if you attend. “We value consent,” a sign in the lobby reassures. Members of the company interview arriving theatregoers who express an interest in playing detective. The lucky winner is announced from the stage when the show begins.
There is no script for Murder-on-the-Lake, but there is a structure. A murder has been committed at the posh Butler’s Island Bed and Breakfast (the set is borrowed from Tons of Money, which also plays at the Royal George) just offshore from Niagara-on-the-Lake. The newly hired detective is sent there under cover to solve the crime.
Each member of the cast has his or her own “backstory” which will inform how they interact with the newly hatched detective, who has been encouraged to be nosy and poke about the premises for clues. Amusingly, each of the suspects is dressed in bold primary colours, presumably so the detective can say things like “the purple guy” if they can’t remember the name.
There are few other clever details to the design of Murder-on-the-Lake that I will let you discover for yourselves.
The success of any improvisational show, especially one of this length and complexity, hinges on two variables: the skill of the improvisers and the person chosen as the detective.
I caught the last preview, at which the chosen detective was a high-school teacher name Cecille, who was arguably the best thing in the show. When she ordered a suspect to “SIT DOWN” in a tone of voice that must strike the fear of God into her fifteen-year-old charges at school she brought the house down.
She also successfully fingered the murderer, something of which I doubt I would have been capable. If the detective guesses wrong, we are told, there is a very different end to the show. I plan to return to Murder-on-the-Lake later this month hoping to see just such a denouement.
As to the improvising, and as might be expected, Northan and Horak are the most at ease with the format. Northan, after all, has been doing this sort of thing for donkey’s years and she is a master (mistress?) of the genre.
The other members of the cast are drawn from the Shaw’s stable of regular performers. For the record they are Kristopher Bowman, Cosette Derome, Sochi Fried, Virgilia Griffith, Martin Happer, and Travis Seetoo. At the show I saw, Bowman was the most consistently entertaining.
Of course, when you see Murder-on-the-Lake he will no doubt be playing a different role since the parts are chosen by lot for each performance. That’s just another reason why attempting a “review” is a fool’s errand.
Since the improvisers have to remain true to their characters while simultaneously trying to coax the detective along, there is a tendency to push a wee bit too hard. Some of that I suspect will be evident at every performance. Fortunately, there are enough moments of hilarity to make up for the occasional longueurs.
I had a good time at Murder-on-the-Lake. Whether the same will be true for your visit is impossible to predict, but that’s what brings fans of improv like myself coming back again and again.
Finally, a nod to assistant sound designer Daniel Tessy, whom I assume was responsible for the ominous rolls of thunder that punctuated especially dramatic moments in the proceedings. Nice touch.
Murder-on-the-Lake continues at the Royal George through October 4, 2025. For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Shaw Festival website.
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