Death on the Fringe is a comedy insight into the trials and tribulations of a small fringe theatre. A tantrum-throwing leading lady, an ex-banker and a deluded young stud are the 'talent' and Don (Guy Callen) their hapless director. 
      Their play Alexander the Golden Legend is supposed to make Don the talk of the West End. However, his inexperienced cast ensure that he's barely spoken of in Islington, let alone Shaftesbury Avenue. So, enter stage left Sir Emrys Merioneth (Bernard Lawrence) a world renowned actor whom Don has spent his lifetime researching (and found a few skeletons in the cupboard.) During rehearsals, Sir Emrys criticises, manipulates and overpowers until eventually he's the most hated person on set. When, the night before opening, he corpses everyone has a motive for wanting him dead. 
      This production from Elephant Theatre Company is let down by the predictable writing. True, over-acting is inherent to all the characters but at times it was too cliched, turning the show into a farce rather than a light murder mystery. 
      Nonetheless, Kate Mccandish as the naive Kate Portland-Brown and Jackie Skarvellis as the witch-like Tatiana Verona did give their roles vibrancy and depth in an otherwise hackneyed production. 
Elizabeth Shenton