Murder Mystery Supper at Hippodrome Review

Posted on: 2017-12-14

Our rating:

During the time that we were all eating and asking the actors questions, we also got to know neighbouring people on our tables relatively well and there was a communal sense of excitement when two other characters dropped down dead..


A completely different Bristol Hippodrome experience can be had in the form of a murder mystery super evening and if the latest one called ‘Yule be Sorry!’ is anything to go by, this is a night of fine acting and enjoyable dining.

Murder

I’ve always been intrigued by these type of events and I wasn’t disappointment with my first exposure to this who dunnit evening when I went to the piano bar last Friday (8th December). As soon as myself and my husband walked in to this bar, which is part of the theatre but has its own entrance, we were greeted with rows of neatly laid tables and a group of smiling staff members.

 

People had a chance to mingle and get drinks before we were all seated for the evening's entertainment and when the actors started coming out and approaching all of our tables, a real sense of excitement bubbled away amongst us. The time was the end of the 1930s, we quickly learnt who the different characters were and all of the actors were superb. There was Jemima Beauchamp (wife of Roland), Scarlette Tomb (undertaker), Wilberforce Wade (family solicitor), Jonas Smith (blacksmith) and finally Dame Lily Von Essenberg (mother-in-law of Jemima who was played by the same actor that was the family solicitor). Jemima Beauchamp was recently acquitted of her husband Roland’s murder and was throwing a party at her home to show us all that she had no hard feelings.

 

Many people’s favourite part was the undertaker as this actress really immersed herself in being this eerie, macabre character who was a fan of black clothing. She signalled me out for chuckling and proceeded to play out a fine example of the creepy, hunched over loner who consistently said death is good for her business.

 

After everyone had taken their seats for an appropriate amount of time – the first course was served (a deliciously warming bowl of spicy roasted parsnip soup with a side of bread) and people happily tucked in as the actors walked around us and gave us snippets of information. It quickly became obvious that the wife of Roland and the blacksmith were up to no good together and there was a real light-hearted comical element to this night.

 

Next up on the food front was the main course (pigs in blankets served with roasted veg and gravy) which was extremely filling and satisfying (vegetarian and gluten free options were also offered and Bistro Manager Gavin went above and beyond when he was asked to source the food/ingredients I could eat.)

Food

During the time that we were all eating and asking the actors questions, we also got to know neighbouring people on our tables relatively well and there was a communal sense of excitement when two other characters dropped down dead at different points throughout the evening. The storyline of each murder mystery evening changes every time one is run at the Hippodrome so don’t worry about any spoilers in this review.

 

The final course was a chocolate and orange gateaux (or a fruit selection for some of us) and a lot of people were full from their previous courses and drinks so didn't finish their portions; there was a sense of really getting your money’s worth during this evening.

Dessert

It was very amusing to see all of the people who had come in period dress as it helped set the overall scene; you felt like you were transformed to a different time and the costumes that the performers wore were of the highest quality. These five professional actors really teased us with their clues and gossip during the whole night (which went on for about three hours) and we all had our own personal opinions about who the murderer was.

 

When it neared the end of the evening, we were encouraged to write down the person who we believed committed the murders in our individual teams and then we passed the papers over in order to wait the final announcement; our table were very surprised when we got it wrong as we were so convinced our theories were spot on but it was great to see a bottle of wine presented to the winning table (which happened to include a birthday girl).

 

This is the sort of evening that is very different and needs to be tried at least once in your lifetime; Brenda from St George went along and said: “This was an exciting and entertaining evening – I would definitely recommend it!” and Rebecca from Fishponds stated: “It was really good fun and well thought out! Kept me on my toes all night.”

 

Charlie Thompson from Bristol, who was sat on our table, added: “This was lots of fun, full of great acting and engagement with the audience. The undertaker stole the show!”

 

For information on future murder mystery evenings at the Hippodrome go here. Full details of the menu, storyline and time period will be sent out in advance via email if you book to attend!



Article by:

Kelly Jobanputra

Kelly worked as a journalist for the BBC for 12 years before she changed careers and went into the field of marketing. Having worked at BBC 6 Music for several years, she is passionate about many different genres of sound. Her other interests include theatre, comedy, books, food and days out with the family (she has a young daughter who she describes as a "whirlwind of fun.") Kelly is married to Vik who is a true Bristolian to the core! She is also studying nutritional therapy.