“There are three things you can never get enough of in life, Lieutenant. Chocolate, friends and the theatre.”

Jessica Fletcher, Danse Diabolique

When I grow up, I want to be a combination of Jessica Fletcher and Mary Berry.

You may have seen the TV show, Murder, She Wrote, in which case, Jessica Fletcher needs no introduction.

If you haven’t, let me explain. Murder, She Wrote is a detective series starring Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher, a retired teacher and author who writes mystery novels under the pen name, J.B. Fletcher. She lives in Cabot Cove, a small town in Maine with a murder rate to rival Midsomer. As well as being a bestselling writer, Jessica has a talent for solving crime. Wherever J.B. Fletcher goes, murder is never far away, and she cracks the case every time.

Jessica Fletcher is a queen of amateur sleuthing. Mary Berry is queen of cakes. They are both consummate professionals at the top of their respective fields, brilliant women with an abundance of talent, class and style. I rather like the idea of living in a lovely house on the coast, writing books and travelling all the over the world like Jessica, occasionally stopping to bake a scrumptious, perfectly executed cake just like Mary Berry.

But more on why I enjoy baking another time.

Today on Medway, She Wrote: How I came to love Jessica Fletcher, why Beauty and the Beast has more than one connection to Cabot Cove, and my review of Tim Benzie’s smash-hit show, Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote.

(And if you’ve seen Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote, you’ll know that last paragraph is what’s known as a pre-cap!)

Me and Murder, She Wrote

I get my love of Murder, She Wrote from my Nanna. Murder, She Wrote was primetime telly when me and my sisters were little in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In those days, Nanna would often babysit us on weekends, and we would all cram into Nanna’s room, watching detective shows while drinking tea and eating orange creams. If it wasn’t Murder, She Wrote, it was Poirot or Miss Marple.

Angela Lansbury once said, talking about the show, “I like to believe it’s something a grandmother could watch with her grandchild and each would get their own enjoyment out of the story.” Well, she succeeded in the case of Nanna and us. Looking at the Kelley House Museum blog, we weren’t alone!

Later, I discovered other classic cosy crime series – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring the incomparable Jeremy Brett, Diagnosis Murder, Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, and more, and I blazed through Agatha Christie books at the library. I still love TV detective shows to this day. Naturally, being a proud Geordie woman, I love Vera (which stars Brenda Blethyn – a woman of Kent!) and Hudson & Rex is a firm favourite in our house.

But Murder, She Wrote has a special place in my heart. It is perfect comfort telly – as much as a show about murder can be. There’s no gore, no violence, no swearing, no vastly complicated story arc that goes on for years. Just Jessica Fletcher, besting the cops every episode with her trademark grace and charm. Reliable, reassuring, familiar. And whenever I watch it, it reminds me of those happy times at Nanna’s.

When I was younger, I remember thinking it must be tremendous fun to be Jessica Fletcher – being a writer, and solving mysteries! I still think that would be tremendous fun. But as I have gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate Jessica Fletcher as a feminist icon.

Angela Lansbury said in several interviews that she wanted Jessica Fletcher to have “a quality of every woman.” For her to be relatable, sincere, down-to-earth.

Well, I’m not a bestselling mystery writer. I do not (currently) solve crime, and my wardrobe is significantly less chic than J.B. Fletcher’s. But I do think she is a fantastic, relatable character and a great role model. She’s an independent woman with a glamourous career. She’s always composed, elegant, a lady in every sense of the word. Many underestimate her, but she never underestimates herself. As her famous quote goes,“I may be wrong, but frankly, I doubt it.”

That’s why I want to be Jessica Fletcher when I grow up. Though preferably without having to constantly bail my nephews, nieces and godchildren out of jail and prove their innocence like she does.

Dame Angela Lansbury

There are some actors who become so synonymous with their character that you can’t possibly entertain the idea of anyone else playing the role. For example, as far as I’m concerned, David Suchet is Poirot and Jeremy Brett is Sherlock Holmes. I will accept no substitutes.

Similarly, there is only one J.B. Fletcher, and that is Angela Lansbury. You can’t talk about Murder, She Wrote without talking about Dame Angela herself. There’s a whole internet’s worth of material on Angela Lansbury, but I’m going to mention just three of my favourite facts about her; she’s British, she sang alongside Baby’s dad from Dirty Dancing, and she filmed a murder mystery here in Kent!

The enormous success of Murder, She Wrote leads many people to think that Angela Lansbury is American, but she’s actually English. As she said to Terry Wogan in a 1991 interview, “When I’m in America, they think I’m very English, and when I’m here they think I’m very American.”

Lansbury was born in London, but moved to New York in her late teens to go to drama school. After landing the role of Nancy in Gaslight when she was just 17, she enjoyed a hugely successful career in film and in theatre before starring in Murder, She Wrote. She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one for TV, and one for film). Murder, She Wrote made Lansbury one of the highest paid women in US television, and earned her 12 Emmy nominations.

Lansbury’s film credits include starring roles in two of my favourite films. She played Eglantine Price in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and voiced Mrs Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

Here’s a fun fact for you. Most people know that Angela Lansbury was Mrs Potts in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. What most people don’t know, is that there’s another connection between Beauty and the Beast and Murder, She Wrote: Lumiere in that movie was voiced by Jerry Orbach.

Jerry Orbach is most famous for playing Lennie Briscoe in Law & Order and his finest role – Baby’s dad in the greatest film ever made, Dirty Dancing. But before all of those roles, Orbach played Harry McGraw, a hard-boiled private investigator from Boston, in six episodes of Murder, She Wrote! His character was so popular, he even got his own spin-off, The Law and Harry McGraw.

Most people don’t believe me when I tell them that Baby’s dad from Dirty Dancing and the flirty French candelabra, Lumiere, are one and the same person, so please enjoy this video of Angela and Jerry recording the song, ‘Be Our Guest’, for Beauty and the Beast.

Jessica Fletcher solved mysteries all over the world, but never came to Kent. Angela Lansbury did though. She played Miss Marple in The Mirror Crack’d, which was filmed at St Clere Estate near Sevenoaks. The villages of Smarden and Shoreham were used as St Mary Mead, Miss Marple’s home town, in the film.

But recently, J.B. Fletcher arrived in Medway, channelled through Tim Benzie in his cult smash-hit show, Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote.

J.B. Fletcher comes to Rainham

As The Man of Kent and I were driving home from our new ballroom dancing class earlier this year, we went past St Margaret’s Church in Rainham. There was a sign outside advertising events. We hadn’t realised St Margaret’s was an arts venue as well as a church, so I did a quick bit of in-car googling to see what shows were coming up.

“Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote is on in July!” I shrieked.

[Brief aside: Try not to shriek about upcoming theatrical productions while someone is driving. Apparently this is “distracting.”]

I had seen Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle last year. It had been recommended to me by both my best friend Amanda, and my dear friend Tracey, whose theatre recommendations are always on point. I flipping loved it! And now it was coming to Rainham, here in little old Medway!

Tickets were booked immediately. Naturally a suitable outfit was needed, so I bought this fab t-shirt from Fatal Femme.

Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote

On our way in to St Margaret’s, we overheard one audience member say, “I think I’ve seen every episode of this about twenty times.”

It doesn’t matter if you have seen every episode of Murder, She Wrote twenty times, or if you haven’t seen a single episode of the show. You will have a brilliant time regardless.

Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote is pure joy and a ton of fun. Written by Aussie playwright and Angela Lansbury superfan, Tim Benzie, it’s been running since 2019, garnering a cult following around the world. Regular audience members – or indeed, anyone who loves Murder, She Wrote and the great Dame Angela – are affectionately known as ‘Fangelas’.

The idea of the show is to watch an episode of Murder, She Wrote and try to solve the crime together, with Tim Benzie compéring and providing hilarious, witty commentary throughout.

The audience ranks the episode’s guest stars on the Fame-ometer, while suspects are ranked on the Suspiciometer. You also get to play the Cabot Cove Quiz (I am proud of The Man of Kent for getting farther than me), do a sing-along, and there’s a raffle. The Man of Kent was one number off winning the Jessica Fletcher mug. So close, and yet, so far. Gutted.

Every show at a venue is a different episode. This time, it was ‘Paint Me A Murder.’

I think some of the Rainham audience were a little unsure about what to expect at first, but soon warmed up and by the end were energetically waving suspects up and down the Suspiciometer, noisily joining in all the games, and generally having a fabulous time.

Tim Benzie fizzes with energy, nimbly juggling audience interaction, costume changes, props, peppering the audience with anecdotes and trivia, and keeping the show on schedule, in a feat of theatrical time management. His enthusiasm and affection for his subject is infectious, and he’s a walking encyclopedia of all things Angela Lansbury, Murder, She Wrote and vintage mysteries. I love a bit of trivia and Tim Benzie has bucketloads of it. Without Solve-Along-A, I would never have known about the Robert Goulet Mustached American of the Year Award, for a start.

Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote is like a boisterous, bonkers meeting of a Murder, She Wrote appreciation society, and a big, snuggly, nostalgic hug rolled into one. It’s a show made with love, but one that isn’t afraid to poke gentle fun at the sillier aspects of the episode in question. A fun, feelgood, heartfelt tribute to an iconic show and an iconic woman. Tim Benzie says this show is his “love letter to Angela Lansbury” and I can think of no better way to describe it.

I’ve seen Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote twice now, and I’ll happily see it again. Fangelas forever!

Huge props to St Margaret’s in Rainham for putting on this show. The venue – a church – made the show feel even more zany. I couldn’t help thinking that, if J.B. Fletcher was here, she would definitely find a body lurking in one of the pews or behind the font. Episode title, Murder in Medway? If only Dame Angela were still with us to film it.

Where we ate before the show: The Greedy Banker

In Covid times, The Man of Kent and I ordered a lot of take-aways from The Dead Pigeon bar in Rochester. We ordered from them so often, in fact, that one evening their delivery driver randomly turned up at our house and announced he had our order. Perplexed, we explained we hadn’t actually ordered anything that night. ‘Really?’ the driver responded, puzzled, then inspected the label on the bag. “Oh you’re right! Sorry! I saw the street name and just assumed it must be you, but this one’s for up the road!”

(Don’t judge us. It was Covid times; everyone was ordering mountains of takeout. We were just firmly committed to supporting local businesses as we comfort-ate our way through a pandemic. Oink.)

The Dead Pigeon has gone from strength to strength since. We had been meaning to try its sister restaurant, The Greedy Banker, for ages. As it’s just across the road from St Margaret’s Church, it was ideally located for a pre-show bite to eat.

The Greedy Banker is a sports bar that majors on burgers and beer. The Man of Kent makes a point of trying out the monthly burger special at Dead Pigeon establishments. His all-time favourite, the Medwayterranean Burger, has sadly not returned to the menu, so he had the Choripan Burger instead. Apparently, it was delicious. I am a woman of simple tastes, burger-wise; you can’t beat a classic cheeseburger done well, and The Greedy Banker did it well. The drinks menu features Bavarian beers and craft ales with funny names like Lightbulb and Steady Rolling Man. The place is dog friendly, so expect some of your fellow customers to be very cute.

Where we went afterwards: The Cricketers

We popped into The Cricketers pub (next door to St Margaret’s) for a post-show drink, sitting outside as it was a balmy night. The Man of Kent was a good sport and tolerated having to sit next to the pub nerd who was handwriting notes for her blog while he sipped a nice cold pint. In a highlight of the evening, we got to meet Tim Benzie himself, who had also popped in for a post-show beverage! He’s such a lovely chap! (And I’m not just saying that because he admired my Jessica Fletcher t-shirt).

And finally

Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote is currently on tour and will return to Kent later this year. It’s on in Deal on 20th September, Broadstairs on 19th October and Tunbridge Wells on 7th November.

I hope it will also return to Medway one day.

Wherever you live, don’t miss out on seeing this brilliant show! If you’re a J.B. Fletcher superfan, you will love it. If you’re not a J.B. Fletcher superfan, you will be by the time you leave. I may be wrong on those points, but frankly, I doubt it.