Wednesday 31 January will see the Bedfest production of ‘Highway to Hell’, brought to audiences by the creative collaboration of two of Bedlam theatre’s leading figures: director Lauren Green, writer and director of ‘This is How it Happened’, Fringe 2023, and writer and actor Huw Turnbull, writer and assistant director of last semester’s highly celebrated ‘Slash’. This witty and whacky murder-mystery has all the ingredients for an entertaining and captivating watch; a revamp of the usual ‘whodunnit’ tropes, with an eclectic mix of whimsical characters (portrayed by many of Bedlam’s famous faces), is entrenched in the ever-so-cool 1979 setting, which will inevitably leave audiences nodding along to the cleverly intertwined 70s soundtrack (including, of course, the titular ‘Highway to Hell’, released in 1979).
Set in the heat of summer, on the tour bus of the rockstar Vinnie Rotten, six eccentric individuals, inspired by the larger-than-life characters in murder-mysteries such as ‘Knives Out’ and Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, strive to uncover the murderer; without signal, confined in the small space of the tour bus, underlined with the summer heat… what could possibly go wrong? Currently studying a postgraduate in playwrighting after focusing on crime fiction for his undergraduate dissertation, Turnbull shares his evident love of murder mysteries and prowess in the field, pegging the genre as ‘universally appealing’, inviting an array of different audiences to Wednesday’s performance. Green similarly sets alight the Rock’n’roll time period, allowing the 1979 vision to ooze into all aspects of the performance, enticing audiences further.
This inevitable theatrical treat appeals to theatre lovers, as well as anyone looking for a 75-minute escapist interlude, with quips and repartee perfectly designed for live interaction between audience and actors. Green and Turnbull look forward to sharing an enthralling and gripping Rock’n’roll ‘whodunnit’ with audiences next Wednesday evening.
Image provided via Bedlam Theatre Press Release