The Uncrackable Case is a new musical written by Jamie Walsh on Book and Lyrics, with Claire O’Connor and Bay Bryan on Music. Director Olivia Race has also had a hand in co-creating the piece.
Humpty Dumpty has had a great fall. All the King’s Horses, and all the King’s Men, have not been able to provide adequate first aid, and Humpty is dead. But did he fall? Or was he pushed?
Investigating authorities in fairy tale land have decided that Humpty’s death was murder, and have charged ‘and Jill’, of ‘Jack and Jill’ fame, with the crime. What follows is a courtroom mystery, the tropes of which will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched an episode of Perry Mason or watched Legally Blonde.
As is traditional in courtroom dramas, we are led through the testimony of various characters who have been involved in the case. The first batch of questions comes from Red Riding Hood, who is the lawyer for the prosecution. Big Bad Wolf is the defence lawyer for Jill. The Three Little Pigs are, of course, the investigating police officers.
We don’t get an entirely linear path through the story, as we’re treated to flashbacks and recreations of events that happened in the months leading up to Humpty’s demise. We even hear from the egg themselves, who have an exceptionally clever costume choice marking their, well, ‘egg-ness’.
There’s a lot going on here about the perils of social media. In a show that seems to have been devised for a family audience, that’s a good theme. Research shows that an increasing number of teenagers want to be “social media stars”, or “influencers”, and the presence of screens in their lives seems to start at an ever-younger age. There’s also some lovely bits of wordplay here, with ChikTok and NestFlix being cited as some of the peddlers of other people’s content.
A word about the four-strong cast, who all multi-role with an energy that’s overwhelming just to observe. Riana Duce, Claire O’Connor, Purvi Parmar, and Emily Spowage inhabit every character with aplomb. Whilst audiences are now probably used to actors taking on multiple roles in one show, here, specific characters are themselves performed by more than one person. The Judge – Fairy Judge Mother is probably the most noticeable example, but there are others, too. That you just accept it is testament to the strength of the performance skills on display here.
The music is also marvellous. The tunes are actually memorable, and you will find yourself humming ‘Uncrackable: the case that can’t be solved’ for several days after you’ve seen the show.
This is a great show. Actually, it’s two great shows. What starts as a show that seems aimed towards a family audience has a shift in tone at the point where the King comes to court to provide his testimony. After this point, the material becomes much more adult in theme and material, and the two halves don’t quite seem to fit together. If this tonal shift can be smoothed out and the specific target audience identified, this show could be a huge success.
The Uncrackable Case led to us cracking up with huge smiles on our faces. A toe-tapping time, with a cracking good plot, and a genuine twist at the end, this deserves to be a double-yolker of a hit.
The Uncrackable Case continues in Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard, at 13:40 daily, until August 25th.
Photo by David Lindsay
