Affordable murder mystery with THUNK

The Thunking person's murder gang: l-r George Walker, Charlotte Kerr, George Unitt, Finn Mcdonald, Nicholas Royle, Matilda Herd and Sherrelle McCalla

Manchester-based theatre collective THUNK is aiming to make theatre in Manchester more accessible and affordable with an aesthetic inspired by the punk movement (theatre + punk = THUNK).

Co-director and author George Unitt explained: "We rehearse in the back rooms of pubs, aim to encourage actors, directors, and designers without formal training to get involved and have a variety of more experimental performances planned for the future - though generally our focus will be on comedy-drama."

Thunk's murder mystery Horsemen (at Manchester's 53two venue, April 13-14) is the group's first play, and promises an evening of secrets and laughs. When a group of bizarre strangers discovers the dead body of the Black Dog’s landlord in the cellar, accusations fly and the truth behind the pub’s dark past is uncovered as they try to figure out who the killer is - before the police arrive or the killer strikes again.

George added: "The play has been in the works for a while and we’re really looking forward to sharing it. The script is heavily inspired by absurdist theatre, such as Pinter, Ionesco and Beckett, but still has a strong mystery plot inspired by things like Jonathan Creek. It's the follow-up to my sold-out comedy Boxed In, which was at the King’s Arms in Salford and had mostly the same cast."

Horsemen is part of the 53New scheme, designed to encourage new theatre groups. Though Pay What You Can tickets for those on lower incomes have already sold out, other tickets remain an affordable £8.

More info here