Notes From Row H

West End Theatre Review – The Duchess Theatre

As the last stop of their 2025 tour, Degrees of Error took over the Duchess Theatre for one night, to improvise a murder mystery play – and so of course, hilarity ensued. 

Led by Agatha Crustie and Jerkins (an audience member who was chosen at random by Agatha flinging a deer stalker at them), over 2 hours, the ensemble improvised a murder mystery: think an interactive Cluedo with added fun. 

The show is different every night, and for the show that I saw, the mystery was based on trip to Bradford in 1933, and the mysterious object was chosen to be an orange wooden leg. Add in a love triangle involving a Titanic survivor and a run in with a walk-in freezer, the show was hilariously macabre and riotous.

The cast themselves were flawless, and their improvisational skills were seamless and masterful. Their ability to take everything in their stride (even the absolutely bizarre and wacky) and draw together all the seemingly non sensical elements to make a coherent Agatha Christie-esque mystery, was very impressive. 

The audience are made to feel very included: Agatha Crustie takes suggestions at the start of the show to help determine key plot elements, like an important item and an event, then later on, the victim and the killer. This makes them even more integral to the story line, and the action on stage more chaotic and spontaneous! 

The improvisation is enormously supported by the set design, costumes and improvised music, which help to make the show more immersive and also feel as if it is a ‘proper play’. 

In 2026, Degrees of Errors will return to the Duchess Theatre as part of a wider UK and Australia tour. This show is thoroughly enjoyable and rewatchable: I will definitely be seeing it again!

Written by Helena Featherstone