The Mercure Grosvenor Hotel Adelaide is as grim as a deceased estate with everything on the ground floor closed, while it was party-time next door at the Strathmore. One proceeds up the stairs to the first floor which had the hush of a funeral home. A hostess directs you to your viewing room. But wake for it; the Mercure is actually abuzz with Fringe shows, yet maybe due to COVID, nothing is happening in the ample common space. A perfect situation for MURDER!

Great Detectives did such great box office in Australian tours in 2016, 2017 and 2018 that a sequel was needed to keep a good thing going. Dressed in snappy black in front of 1950s mics, Benjamin Maio Mackay, Eden Trebilco, Julia Sciacca, and Jennifer Barry return to voice a couple of murder intrigues in an adventure each for reprised female ‘frisco private eye, Candy Matson, and insurance investigator, Johnny Dollar. Aside from our heroes are a plethora of hard-boiled voice portraits harking back to the popularity of American mystery radio drama of mid last century. The audience is invited into the recording studio and enjoys the normally unseen physical interactions.

With a satirical bent and scripts in hand, the performers convey the energy, risk, spontaneity and excitement of improvisation with versatile vocal virtuosity. Some accented characterisations are crackers. You are right there on a San Francisco tram or in some eccentric’s mansion with them. The plotlines are twisted and unguessable, yet thematically familiar of the genre.

If you need introduction to live radio serial drama or crave another fix, this is the ticket. And if you like what you see, this production company has another ten shows on in the Fringe.