Review: The Unholy Marriage of Slice and Sweetly

Style: Immersive Murder Mystery
Where: 55 Southwark Street
When: Currently booking until 6th September

Rating: 5/5 stars

Not suitable for those with mobility issues.

By the people who brought you Dead Quiet, this is another fascinating immersive murder mystery. Here, the vicar has been stabbed on the wedding day of local gang leader’s son Jim Slice and you are brought back to watch all the action of the day in the atmospheric space of an East End church.

Like with Dead Quiet, this had three distinct acts. In the first, you are allocated a character to follow. This you do diligently, following them around the church, into nooks and crannies, vestries and belltowers. As you go along you learn more and more about the dodgy dealings and goings-on of this 1950 crime family.

All post-war life is here – and all of it is tinged with the recent memory of that war. There are people who were lost and people who feel lost. The real Bethnal Green Tube Disaster is an integral part of the plot as is the real bombing of the host church.

The live action ends with all the characters together, cleverly part-shielded from the audience and the stabbing of Reverend Gris.

At this point, teams reconvene, gather for refreshments and bring together their stories and exchange clues and theories.

Up to this point, the action has been largely promenade rather than immersive, but that all changes in the second half. Now that the action has been established – and all but the actual murder witnessed by at least some of the audience, it is now time we come into our own, given 5 minutes to interview each witness.

There are many excellently placed red herrings in the stories that played out in the first half and the questioning can take you down routes that are a long way from relevant or important to the final outcome. Much as a good detective fiction will do. It can feel frustrating, but at the same time exhilarating to follow these trails, unsure which to take and where they might lead. And at the end, each group is asked to make a choice as to who they thought did the crime. As it happens this time – unlike with Dead Quiet (which I think I under reviewed and deserved 4 stars on reflection) – I felt a lot more invested in the denouement where the victim and murderer tell their tales. I also got it right this time – but was far less sure about it!

The Unholy Marriage… is a superb collision of the atmosphere of the venue, the history of the area and a well-plotted and engaging drama that throws you into the heart of the action. It offers three very different acts – all of which were tightly plotted, gripping and excellently directed. The story was complex and demanding and the timing of the different scenes – ensuring that everyone was where they were supposed to be at the same time as making sure the audience got the experience required was extraordinary so well done to director Rosanna Malinson for achieving that so smoothly.

Some people don’t like weddings. I’m not one of them. I love a good wedding, I love a good murder mystery and this was the perfect combination of the two. An excellent way to spend an evening. Slice off a sweet moment to savour this event.