IF you like your comedy dark and mysterious, head over to the Ilkley Playhouse on Friday, April 20: it’s going to be deadly!

As part of their short tour, innovative community group Shipley Little Theatre are performing their new murder mystery, Truth Will Out. Written by local author, Lauren K. Nixon, this interactive mystery follows the tradition of the English Country House murder.

Set in the roaring ‘20s, the play follows the misfortunes of the Nithsdale family and their friends as they entertain a Russian mystic and alleged spiritualist, Alexei Vasiliev. And what better way to amuse his hosts than to perform a séance in their midst? As the spirits rise and the weather closes in, Vasiliev prepares to reveal all – but not everyone in Nithsdale Manor is ready for their secrets to be exposed, and their little soirée becomes more of a wake!

The police are summoned, but it is rapidly clear they are understaffed and overwhelmed, and they are keen to enlist the audience’s help in discovering their murderer. They have their work cut out for them, for Nithsdale Manor is a house of dark secrets. Is Lady Anne truly the charitable society dame she appears to be? Just what is going on between Freddy Nithsdale and his glamorous fiancé, Amelia Dyer? What does young Lydia Nithsdale have against the butler? And what is Krasmira Popova, Vasiliev’s mysterious assistant, up to?

Building on the success of K. Palomar’s Pantoland’s Got Talent and Eddie Lawler’s autumn tour of Making Light, Shipley Little Theatre are going from strength to strength. The group’s Chair, Lauren Fleming, says, “This is exactly the kind of stuff the group loves to sink its teeth into – plenty of silliness and a good deal of dark humour. As a company, we’re particularly committed to community involvement, and putting on new plays by local authors, performed by local actors is a big part of that.”

Director Peter Jeffrey-Bourne adds, “We all love murder mysteries, and the best part is often guessing ‘whodunit’ before the detectives. The joy of having an interactive experience like this is that the audience can really get involved.”

Are you up to the task of solving the murder?

You can catch Truth Will Out Bradford Playhouse, in the Priestley Coffee Lounge and Bar, on Friday the 13th and Saturday the 14th of April; at Ilkley Playhouse, in the Wildman Studio, on Friday, April 20. Tickets are £10 (Concessions £8), available from the theatres’ particular box offices, or for the Shipley performance, from wegottickets.com/shipleylittletheatre.