Pinch Punch Improv are bringing their new show, Locomotive for Murder, to Edinburgh Fringe this year.
Where: Gilded Balloon Patter House
When: 31 Jul, 1-13, 15-26 Aug
Lottie Davies from Pinch Punch tells us more!
What are you most looking forward to at Fringe?
All the shows!
We love our show, of course, and the slightly manic atmosphere of the whole city and flyers zipping about – but it’s the shows and the companies up there who make it.
We’ve all got very long lists of things we’d love to see, so let’s see how many we can cram in!
Locomotive for Murder is an hour-long, improvised, comedy murder mystery. Sounds easy (!). Where did the idea come from?
We chose it because it sounded super hard, actually!
We played around with a lot of genres and kept turning down a murder mystery because of the logistics, but we’re all big fans of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes (and Death in Paradise!) so we thought – why not?
The biggest challenge was how to choose a murderer in a way that doesn’t feel like we’re cheating the audience.
If they know before they go onstage, that just feels like we’ve planned everything and we may as well have written a show, but if someone just decides they’re the killer at the end, then it feels a bit flimsy and like we’ve gone along with the audience.
We’ve come up with a way of secretly choosing a killer mid-show in a fair way that means everyone gets to play along and gives a really juicy, satisfying ending – come along and see if you agree!
What do you love the most about improv, and what’s challenging about it?
I personally started improv because I was afraid of it, but now it’s the most natural thing in the world.
The challenges in the beginning are things like ‘what can I come up with?’ And ‘Will the audience think I’m funny?’, which is a totally natural reaction to being onstage and trying to think of plot.
The thing that made it all better for me was settling into a group of really funny people who work hard at honing both the improv craft and the show we’ve built together – I’m super proud to work with this bunch, and even happier to call them my friends.
The challenges now are ‘how do I make the audience feel good about giving suggestions?’ and ‘what’s the best way to set up my colleague for that joke?’
The audience is absolutely essential in these types of shows. Do you have any stories where that dynamic didn’t quite go to plan?
Surprisingly, no!
You’re right, the audience is essential, and it’s important for everyone to know that there’s no pressure attached to that.
It’s not the audience’s job to make or break the show, they just get to have a good time – we’ll do all the work!
I think when you go and see an improv show, it’s easy to feel like it’s resting on your shoulders a bit, and we’re working hard to make sure that isn’t the case.
We ask the audience for a few bits of information about their lives and what they like to do at the beginning of the show.
And, of course we collect theories about whodunnit it towards the end when we’ve heard all the clues, too, but the most important thing to us it that they’re having a great time pointing fingers.
What’s next for Pinch Punch?
More murders!!
We’re planning a tour next year with a handful of dates booked in for September and we’re already looking at next summer.
Hopefully the Locomotive for Murder will be stopping off at a spot near you!