Review: The Murdér Express Part Deux - Jewel of the Empire
Photo: Funicular Productions
Funicular Productions' The Murdér Express Part Deux - Jewel of the Empire, which runs out of the fictional Pedley Street Station near the very real Whitechapel station, is an immersive dining experience set onboard the show’s titular train. With a seasonal three-course meal, a cast of live actors, and a knowingly ridiculous whodunit, the two-hour-long romp sees guests and the train's eclectic cast of characters become prime suspects as self-proclaimed genius Detective Gilbért (Phil Joe Amato) races to uncover which of the passengers has stolen the Jewel of the Empire and murdered one of the train’s crew members.
The experience begins long before guests are escorted to their seats on the stationary train, as they're welcomed inside Pedley Street Station circa 1937 to collect their tickets and confirm any dietary requirements. As they're ushered through the station lobby to the platform, guests learn about the much-heralded Jewel of the Empire, which proudly sits on display inside the station ahead of being loaded onto the train bound for the French town of Murdér. It's less Chekhov's gun and more Chekhov's jewel.
Once on the platform, guests wait for boarding to begin at small assigned tables, which denote their booth onboard. There's a full-service bar on the platform, which provides some liquid courage to get chatting with fellow passengers, but before long, haughty heiress Vera Valentine (Stephanie Wilson) and the train's conductor, Tomothy Timmins (Jamie Bannerman), weave through the crowd to make their presence known and get boarding underway, respectively.
Photo: Funicular Productions
Onboard the train, guests will find themselves seated in one of eight plush booths, which each hold up to six people. If you're attending with a large group, you can guarantee a booth to yourselves when booking, but smaller parties may be combined. Either way, each booth has an accompanying 'window', displaying looping animations of the French countryside and cities rolling by, as well as several flashbacks throughout the show.
While it's not going to win any awards for photo-realism, the cumulative effect of looking around the space and seeing the animations of rolling hills whizz by is impressive and surprisingly effective - so much so that one guest at our table initially questioned if we were actually moving.
Once the 'journey' gets underway, no time is wasted introducing the rest of the experience's line-up of characters - notably liquor-loving archaeologist Dr Errol Earheart (Annie McKenzie), who recently dug up the Jewel of the Empire in India, and the enigmatic Russian femme fatale Saskia Selikov (Margot Cadic). The show's cast spends the majority of the runtime moving up and down the train's aisle. Depending on where you're seated, your view of each scene will either be particularly good or require some serious neck craning as the action unfolds behind you.
Of course, a murder mystery can't be solved without the necessary murder and mystery first being established, so with the starters barely finished, the show's inciting events - the theft of the Jewel and the murder of Annie, one of the train's crew members - jump-start the storyline, with asparagus velouté-coated fingerprints being found on the plinth that housed the jewel.
Photo: Funicular Productions
While the train's most prominent passengers are all quickly accused, attention soon turns to each booth, with the cast moving from table to table to interrogate the unsuspecting diners. It's all fairly light-touch, with improvised, light-hearted conversations about who people suspect and our collective alibis, but these moments of direct interaction go a long way to drawing diners into the world, even if their accusations and alibis ultimately have little bearing on the outcome.
The show’s central storyline, which is packed full of innuendo, slapstick and every murder-mystery cliché in the book, is firmly tongue-in-cheek. The five-strong cast lean into every comedic moment, and a couple of questionable accents only help to reinforce the show's cartoonish, over-the-top tone.
Given the plot's many twists and turns, it's unlikely that anyone trying to stay one step ahead of Detective Gilbért will have much success, though there are enough clues hiding in plain sight to make a halfway decent stab at a conclusion. Or, you can do what we did and throw out a baseless accusation early on, only to be smugly proven right in the show's final act.
The Murdér Express' three-course menu, which changes seasonally, has been created in partnership with Lunar Wedgewood in Staffordshire. Soon after being seated, there's an amuse-bouche of tapenade parmesan straws, quickly followed by asparagus velouté. The main course comes in the form of chicken breast, creamed potato, tenderstem, and peppercorn sauce (the vegetarian alternative is a soy-based chicken alternative), while a double chocolate chip brownie with vanilla ice cream rounds things off.
Across the board, the quality of The Murdér Express' menu stands out among similar immersive dining experiences in the capital. The service from the venue's wait staff was equally impressive, with the entire team proving to be incredibly attentive throughout, even going so far as to throw in their own jokes and asides as several courses were served.
Photo: Funicular Productions
With its knowingly ridiculous mystery, cartoonish characters, and three courses of quality food, The Murdér Express is less concerned with giving diners a genuinely solvable murder mystery than it is with providing a thoroughly entertaining evening out. Don't stress too much about trying to crack the case; it's far more enjoyable to get swept up in the madness and go along for the ride.
★★★★
[Tickets gifted in exchange for an honest review]
The Murdér Express Part Deux - Jewel of the Empire runs at Pedley Street Station near Whitechapel. Tickets are priced from £74.00 per person and include a 3-course meal. For more information and to book tickets, visit feverup.com
