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Leslie Bloom Solves A Murder

 
Nicholas Abrams Review by Nicholas Abrams 4 Published: 28 Jul 2025 Studio, Gala Theatre Show Dates: 26 Jul 2025-27 Jul 2025

It’s no bad thing when a show does exactly what it says on the tin. Leslie Bloom Solves A Murder promises cosy chaos, drag-fuelled comedy and the kind of murder mystery where the clues are less important than the cake – and that’s pretty much what you get. A perfectly pitched Sunday teatime show, this is the sort of gentle silliness that knows its audience and plays to it with gusto.

It’s less Knives Out and more Midsomer Murders with jazz hands – and that’s part of the charm

Leslie Bloom (the creation of Simon Topping) is an over-60s parkour instructor, beat poet and neighbourhood busybody – or at least she imagines herself to be. She’s hosting a Neighbourhood Watch meeting when, shock horror, someone turns up dead. Cue gasps, clipboards and a roomful of suspects pulled from the audience. It’s less Knives Out and more Midsomer Murders with jazz hands, and that’s part of the charm.

Topping, as Leslie, is a warm and seasoned performer who knows exactly how to work a crowd. There’s plenty of audience interaction – from selecting suspects to calling out plot suggestions – and on this particular afternoon, the mostly retiree audience were more than happy to get involved. There was waving, shouting, impromptu ad libs, and Leslie handled it all with the ease of a performer who’s clearly been doing this sort of thing for a while.

The show works best when it leans into that ease – riffing off the room, riding the waves of laughter and letting the character’s quirks take centre stage. A segment involving Leslie’s subconscious felt overlong and didn’t add much, and the final singalong number could have landed better with a more familiar tune (it’s hard not to feel the theme from Murder, She Wrote was a missed opportunity).

Tonally, this is comedy-theatre more than murder mystery. If you’re expecting tight plotting or red herrings, look elsewhere. But as a lightly interactive character romp, it delivers. There’s real potential here for Leslie Bloom to become a returning Fringe staple – much like the recurring detectives in every murder mystery, she just needs to develop her own set of character tropes and catchphrases to build a lasting legacy.

For now, Leslie Bloom Solves A Murder is good fun, affectionately silly and well tailored to its demographic. Not every gag lands, and the structure could use a trim, but the audience clearly had a lovely time – and sometimes, that’s the mystery solved.

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The Blurb:

Leslie Bloom welcomes all new members to the Toddlingham Neighbourhood Watch. Nothing could possibly go wrong, could it? A combination of crafted comedy, pure silliness and whimsical improv, Leslie Bloom brings an hour of joyful laughter that celebrates the detective in us all. 'Leslie Bloom was as intriguing as she was beguiling...' ★★★★★ (Voice Mag)