Little Lark of London

“Yep that’s me. I bet you’re wondering how I got into this mess – me too”

Note: This review is based on a recording of a live performance

Just like the film noir movies it is lovingly making fun of, Gumshoe! begins at the end, with the titular character of Gumshoe (Christian Dart) dead in a chair on stage. In order to understand how he got there, Gumshoe is taking the audience from the end to the beginning, allowing them to see what led the New York detective to his deadly fate. The question we must answer by the end of the show? “Who did the whodunnit?!”

The time? The 1940s. The place? New York City. The man? Detective Gummo Custer, known as Gumshoe. Gumshoe’s nemesis, the Anagram Killer, is on the prowl, and Gumshoe is the only man who can stop them. We are introduced to the people of the detective’s past, including Orson Greene, his old partner that Gumshoe sees as a father figure, and Andrea Pandrea, the love of his life – indicated by the lights in the theatre turning pink. 

But don’t worry, you don’t really need to follow much of the plot to enjoy the show. While it is set in the 1940s, Dart throws in plenty of modern references and jokes, including some about “brat girl summer” and “fuck boy fall.” Sometimes, Dart would break character and ask the audience if they understood his references, including some about Sonic the Hedgehog. My particular favourite was a scene in which Gumshoe is in an intense car chase that soon turns into something straight out of Mario Kart, bananas and blue shells aplenty. 

There are also some truly spectacular one-liners (that usually end with Gumshoe firing a gun into the air), including one about Gumshoe’s lack of a particular accent, with the man saying, “The accent, much like my ex-wife, never truly rubbed off on me.” Many of these are accompanied by sound and lighting effects by Johanna Dart, which greatly add to the atmosphere. The two Darts work well together in terms of timing, with Christian being able to turn missed sound cues (though they may be missed on purpose) into moments of comedic opportunity, especially when it comes to gunshots. 

There is quite a bit of audience participation and, luckily, this particular audience is happy to oblige. Dart eases the audience into interacting, at first having them simply make bird noises and imitate New York gang members, but then has them become characters in the show, like the femme fatale who introduces Gumshoe’s final case and even the person who steals a precious jewel! It takes some time for the audience to want to fully participate, but once they do, they get quite enthusiastic, making some choices that have Dart saying, “Oh dear, we haven’t written for this!” Before quickly improvising his way through. 

As previously stated, one doesn’t need to worry too much about the plot, which indeed gets a bit lost as the show goes on. There are moments when jokes take over the entire show and don’t really contribute to Gumshoe’s story. One bit in particular has Dart singing the entirety of the song “Kalamazoo” while twirling a gun on his fingers. It’s amusing at first, but it ends up taking nearly five whole minutes for him to successfully complete his mission. The audience, however, seems into it, with one audience member even going on stage and joining Dart, holding up a portable fan to help keep him cool in the heat of the theatre. 

Ultimately, Gumshoe! is a silly yet sincere send-up to the classic film noir genre, with Dart giving a hilarious performance as the titular character. The plot may be slightly secondary to the jokes, but Dart is an excellent comedian who is able to work with both the tech booth and the audience to make a fun hour of mystery. 

Gumshoe! was filmed at New Wimbledon Studio in June 2025. The show will be playing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 30 July to 24 August (no performance on 12 August) at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower – Pip. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.