Good Deeds, Deadly Deeds Murder Mystery 

Good Deeds, Deadly Deeds
A Dinner Theatre Murder Mystery
by Karen Foster
 
What's it all about?
  • A murder mystery event in which the actors play two scripted acts, then open up for interrogation by the audience / guests
  • Lazy Bee Scripts provides the scripted elements and character briefs and six different endings!   
  • The actors play the script then improvise their interactions with the audience
 
What's does Lazy Bee Scripts provide?
Lazy Bee Scripts supplies a pack of material for the performing company including:-
  • Two Scripted Acts 
    • Ending with the murder!
  • A background brief for each character
    • Character description
    • Character history
    • Motivation
  • General staging guidelines
    • Recommendations for preparation
    • Suggestions for "staging"
  • Six Different Endings!
    • "Sealed envelope" briefings for the six suspects plus three eye witnesses
  • Additional materials
    • Solution sheets (for the audience to supply their guesses for "who dunnit")
    • Set plans (one for sharing with the audience to show the off-stage location of the murder) 
 
Note that Lazy Bee Scripts provides the majority of the script, but because the actors are interacting with the audience, it is not possible to stick to a fixed script, instead the actors improvise parts of the dialogue based on their character briefs.
 

What's a Dinner Theatre Murder Mystery?

  • The event is run during a meal as a mixture of a set drama and interaction between players and audience 
  • In this case
    • Two acts of drama are played out before the audience; the second act takes place at a "charity dinner and fun casino" event, where the audience are also guests   
  • The acting company perform the two acts, at the end of which a murder takes place.
  • Eye witnesses come forward
  • The suspects are identified and interrogated by the audience
  • The audience try to spot the murderer
 
What's in this Scenario?

Chris is a successful businessman, recently widowed, living with his daughter Becca.  Their life is interrupted by the arrival of his late wife's long-lost cousin, Nigel.  In spite of arguments and suspicious behaviour, Nigel joins Chris and Becca's party and a charity dinner and casino event, organised by their friend, Helen.  At the charity dinner, (in addition to the audience!) the guests include:
Chris, a middle-aged, widower, successful businessman.
Becca, Chris's daughter. Returned home to live after university, working as a junior reporter on the local paper.
Viv, Chris's cleaner. Prefers to be called a housekeeper and would prefer to be thought of as part of the family.
Jackie, their neighbour. Was the best friend of Angela, Chris's late wife.  A fussy, 'mother-hen' type, especially with Becca.
Barry, Jackie's husband. A bit of a drinker, gambler.
Helen, A glamorous local do-gooder, very active in raising money for charity. The hostess of the charity dinner and casino
Nigel, the long-lost cousin of Chris's late wife. A ladies man on a visit from South Africa.

Half way through the charity dinner.  A jolly evening is marred by the discovery of a body...
There are three eye-witnesses to give testimony, and six suspects to be interrogated by the audience.
 
What do I need to Buy?
Lazy Bee Scripts charges two fees:-
  • A flat fee of £20 for the murder mystery scenario pack
    • Downloadable from the Internet as a zip file
    • Containing all the essential materials
    • Can be used multiple times by your acting company (but you must pay the performance fee for each performance)
  • A fee of £20 for each performance of the scenario (regardless of the "audience" size)