The Edinburgh Fringe is almost upon us and to get prepared for another Scottish summer Read About Stuff is running a ‘Five From The Fringe’ interview series, where creative teams answer five questions about their upcoming Festival shows.
In this interview, I chat to Danyah Miller, star and co-creator, about their new show The Mystery of Pleasance Two.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
The Mystery of Pleasance Two is a brain-teasing, board-game-style theatre experience where the audience is central to the action. As the show’s Games Host, I play a rather bumbling police officer, Constable Newbie. The audience is sworn in as Trainee Detectives and the game begins. Together, we examine evidence, listen to audio clips, watch video clues, interrogate suspects and follow the logic of the game to uncover the name inside the ‘Who Did It’ envelope pinned to our evidence board.
It’s fast-paced, fun and remarkably unpredictable. The audience works as a team to question, debate and vote at key moments. Children often take the lead and I love how sharp they are at making accusations or spotting inconsistencies. And, as with any great board game, the ending is not always the same.
What drew you to this story, and why does it belong at the Edinburgh Fringe?
I’ve always loved spontaneous storytelling, shared thinking and a sense of play and the fact that I don’t quite know where things will land. When director Dani Parr, designer Kate Bunce and I began talking about a show with improv at its core, we knew this unpredictability needed to be contained within a strong structure to make it satisfying for audiences. We all love board games, and the idea of a theatrical murder-mystery game got us very excited.
The Fringe is a natural home for a show such as ours. Audiences arrive curious and willing to take a risk. This live puzzle works best when everyone leans in, and Edinburgh audiences are brilliant. I love performing at the Fringe.
How does the design impact the presentation of your story?
Design is absolutely central, not just the set, but sound, lighting, video and music design too. The set looks deceptively simple, revealing layers as the game unfolds, while sound, video and lighting deliver clues, build jeopardy and steer the pace.
Myself, Dani, Kate, composer and sound designer Arun Ghosh, videographer and lighting designer Gillian Tan, and our stage manager and prop-maker Matt Llewellyn Smith worked closely as a creative team throughout. Alongside us was our group of 6–10-year-old Super Sleuths, who joined us after school during rehearsals. We built this theatrical puzzle section by section. When one of us hit a problem, someone else’s brain would unlock it. It was head-spinning, but deeply rewarding.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
We made the show entirely from scratch: story, structure and games rules. A satisfying board game needs rigour; the logic must hold, the rules must be fair and the mystery has to genuinely work. The storyline has to be intriguing and fun, whilst the setting needs to hold our attention throughout. Pulling all of this together in just three and a half weeks was a huge challenge.
Added to this, because the audience drives the show, it was vital to invite people into rehearsals early in the process. We were still building both the structure and the set while testing the work. We needed to find out where people got stuck, what confused them and what excited them. The process was intense and demanding, but completely collaborative. The show works because of that constant testing, questioning and rewiring.
If you could sum up the show in one phrase, what would it be and why?
Get involved and get it solved.
The show sparkles when the audience leans in and is totally engaged – listening closely, questioning, arguing their case and playing the game together. When that happens, the show pulses with both hilarity and tension.
The Mystery of Pleasance Two runs at Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) from August 5th – 16th. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-mystery-of-pleasance-two
