Camden Fringe 2022: The Man Who Wouldn’t Be Murdered at Lion & Unicorn Theatre

The 75-year longevity of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival means many see that hallowed ground as being the sole ground where undiscovered treasure is found, but Tuesday’s performance of The Man Who Wouldn’t Be Murdered proves that little gems glow at the Camden Fringe, too.

The musical is based on the fabled story of Bronx-dwelling, Donegal-born Michael Malloy (Jude Ashcroft), who survived several attempts on his life by five acquaintances seeking to commit life insurance fraud. The fraudsters in this comic musical are Tony Morino (Jamie Ellis), the owner of a financially struggling underground speakeasy, and his colleagues, Pasquire (Charlotte Dargan) and an unnamed Barman (Aisha Wheatley). What’s more, the brooding Death (Marie-Ange Camara) guides the audience on this humorously dark journey through Prohibition-era New York.

The production has understandably been abridged to undertake its 55-minute slot at the Camden Fringe, and it has even downsized from its first home at the Corpus Playrooms in Cambridge, but the bare foundations of this distilled musical are considerably impressive.

All songs from the show are stoutly played on keyboard by the nimble-fingered Drew Sellis, and the range of jazz subgenres that Lily Blundell has drawn on infuse many of the numbers with an infectious toe-tapping groove that makes viewers yearn for more. 

The relative intimacy of the venue does not even constrain the good-humoured choreography of the larger ensemble numbers – the most striking one being a hilariously tongue-in-cheek send-up of the Prudential Life Insurance Company – and, even if the audience are bizarrely mute to the comedy, the sharp comic timing of the particularly strong members of the company (Camara, Dargan and Wheatley) make this musical more than just a show with catchy songs.

One of the slight dramatic sticking points is that the relationship between Morino and Josephine (Annie Stedman) feels like it’s been stripped to the point where it seems to be dramatically irrelevant. While the relationship generates lovely, low-tempo songs, the dramatic strengths of this version lie in Morino’s farcical attempts to kill Michael and Death’s fascination with this and the morbid side of humanity. In addition, the vocals of Ellis and Ashcroft are notably subdued compared to the powerhouse delivery by the female members of the cast.

The bigger shame, though, is that this otherwise gorgeously crafted musical has a very brief run. With only four nights left, and London-based fringe theatre desperate for audience support, it’s all the more reason to catch it while you can.   

Francis Nash

The Man Who Wouldn’t Be Murdered is at Lion & Unicorn Theatre until 20^th August 2022. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Camden Fringe is on from 1^st until 28^th August 2022. For further information visit here.