Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder – Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Rebekah Hinds and Bronté Barbé in Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder! at Underbelly, George Square – Udderbelly, Edinburgh. Picture: Mihaela Bodlovic

Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder continues at Underbelly, George Square – Udderbelly until 27 August 2023.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

“See you next murder!” is the cheerful sign-off from Kathy and Stella, co-hosts of Hull’s least successful true-crime podcast. Kathy (Bronté Barbé) has anxiety issues, works in a library and lives with her mum, while Stella (Rebekah Hinds) is brassy and outwardly confident, but permanently ‘between jobs’ and sleeping on her sister’s sofa. They broadcast from Kathy’s mum’s garage: “With crackers and cheese and a bottle of Pinot on the side,”, although their audience is tiny.

Snubbed at a signing by their favourite crime author Felicia Taylor (famed for cracking the case of ‘Hull Decapitator’ Billy Fingers), they’re hauled in for questioning when Taylor is killed and accidentally end up living the dream, which isn’t all it’s cracked up to be: “Who knew solving a murder would be so hard?” they lament.

This show (winner of the Musical Theatre Review Best Musical Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022) grabs you by the scruff of the neck and never lets go; loud, relentless and laugh-out-loud funny, although muddy amplification occasionally makes it difficult to hear Jon Brittain’s witty lyrics. Brittain also co-directs and is responsible for the book, which gleefully skewers Comic Con culture, social media influencers and police procedural dramas as the plot becomes ever more preposterous.

Barbé brings a gorgeous naiveté to Kathy, confessing she finally feels alive in a mortuary, and Hinds is a force of nature as Stella, hard-boiled and superb at a withering put-down but highly vulnerable underneath; their admission of co-dependency as they sweetly duet: “If I didn’t have you, I would die” is as poignant as it is funny. Both have gorgeous voices (Hinds’ lower register is particularly impressive) and attack Matthew Flloyd Jones’ ensemble numbers and ballads with gusto, accompanied by an impressive four-piece band.

The supporting cast is equally strong; Jodie Jacobs has a ball as the outrageous Felicia Taylor and a number of her siblings, in addition to playing DC Short, TJ Lloyd is a delight as Justin the mortuary technician (and as Kathy’s mum), while Imelda Warren-Green stops the show as Erica, the excitable mortuary assistant, constantly on the point of hyperventilating. If you’re not keen on loud amplification, swearing or have issues with mortality being treated in a humorous way, this show may not be for you; otherwise, my only advice is to go and see it.

Mark Kydd