Tracie’s Café in Brompton was transformed into a 1980s crime scene this summer as Murder for Breakfast served up comedy, chaos and an interactive murder mystery.

Created by The Brompton Halloween Team and written by Nic Lamont, the fast-paced experience transported audiences back to 1985 Chatham, where a gruesome discovery had been made at Tracie’s Café.

Audience members became detectives, surveying the crime scene, interrogating suspects and piecing together the clues to identify the murderer. With eccentric characters, rapid-fire comedy and plenty of 80s cop-show attitude, everyone had a part to play – including deciding the outcome by voting for the prime suspect.

Part of the magic was the setting. There was no theatre auditorium or traditional stage – the action unfolded in a real local café, bringing theatre directly into the community and turning a familiar space into something completely unexpected.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined the investigation, Tracie for welcoming us into her café, The Brompton Halloween Team and Nic Lamont for creating the show, The Twins Macabre for bringing Sergeant Egg, D.I. Chips and the residents of 1980s Brompton to life, and Medway Council Creative Health Place Partnership for supporting this community-based theatre experience.

Who needs a theatre when you have a café, a room full of amateur detectives and a dead Dr. Blackpudding?