Who is Sam Hill? He is the guy that everyone puts upon, feeds his Aunt’s cat, covers other work-mate’s shifts at work without being asked if he minds – he is single, and he is invisible! How easy would it be to blame a murder on him when he never raises his voice in protest, a perfect scapegoat!
This farce dreamed up by Christian McKeon, is a mad-cap hour of fast paced theatre, which is fun, silly, and cleverly conceived. The plot has Sam Hill (Raphael Kris) working at Costello’s, when his Aunt Sal (Bylli Gomez) requires him to visit her flat to feed her cat, but when Sam arrives Sal is dead, allegedly by a self-imposed shot to the head, but how easy is it to shoot yourself from behind? As further people in Sam’s life are killed, all eyes turn to Sam, but why would he do this?
Ably manipulated by The Narrator (Christian McKeon), the improbability of Sam Hill causing these deaths unfolds, and the Police are involved, with DCI Robins (James Hardy) protecting the crime scene, especially from news reporter Sarah Hudson (Kiki McRad), who always appears when there is a dead body to investigate.
The concept of this play has more depth that would originally appear from its chaotic stage presence, the characters are given some time to develop their back story, even though the play moves at a pace. Sam is likeable, which makes him David to The Narrator’s, Goliath with his much stronger persona. A lot of work has gone into the development of this play, and even though it is full of interesting ideas, it does feel as though it is not quite there yet.
The audience were behind the play, and as a regular attendee of improvised shows, it does feel like some audience involvement would work here, either in suggestions, or including willing audience members to be involved on stage, maybe? In its current form, it is fun, and exciting, but it does not yet feel like it has reached its full potential. The team at Wrong Key Productions can be pleased with their progress, it has much to recommend it, and I would encourage them to work to develop the concept further. The writing is clever and witty, and the comedic timing is well thought through and executed. Wrong Key Productions are a company to watch out for; I have a feeling that we will be hearing a lot more from them in the future!
This performance was the second evening of two performances as a part of Camden Fringe Festival.
Reviewer: Caroline Worswick
Reviewed: 20th August 2025
North West End UK Rating: