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Death at the Final Rehearsal

Case 013 · 24 September 2026 · Easy

On the final dress rehearsal at the Riverside Theatre, director Harold Jennings was found dead during a blackout between scenes. The corridors behind the stage were crowded, but everyone insists they only heard a single dull blow and a chair fall. The stage manager locked the building until the police arrived; no one went in or out. Three people had reason to hate Harold after weeks of shouting, humiliating notes, and last-minute changes. Somewhere between the dim backstage corridors and the cramped rehearsal rooms, one of them turned rehearsal night into murder.

Suspects

• Graham Porter

  Lead actor

  A tall, charismatic leading man whose temper is as famous as his stage presence. Harold threatened to cut Graham’s biggest scene after a loud argument about missed lines.

  188 cm

• Nina Clarke

  Stage manager

  Precise and overworked, Nina kept the production from collapsing despite Harold’s chaos. Earlier that day, Harold told the producer he planned to replace her after opening night.

  179 cm

• Leo Marsh

  Understudy

  A quiet, younger actor who knows every line but rarely gets to perform. Harold mocked Leo’s height in front of the whole cast, saying the role needed ‘someone who could fill the stage’.

  171 cm

Possible weapons

• The wooden baton

  A light rehearsal baton used by the musical director, left on a chair near the stage door.

  500 g

• The metal curtain rod

  A heavy rod from a spare blackout curtain, long enough to swing with both hands.

  1.4 kg

• The sandbag

  A medium stage sandbag used to weigh down scenery bases, scuffed from years of use.

  900 g

Places

• The side corridor

  A narrow passage running behind the flats, barely wide enough for two people to pass.

  Indoors

• The green room

  A cramped room with mismatched sofas and a coffee table, where the cast waited between scenes.

  Indoors

• The costume workshop

  A cluttered room full of fabric rolls, sewing machines and half-finished costumes on racks.

  Indoors

Evidence & statements

1. Leo Marsh was the one carrying the sandbag.
2. Exactly one of these is true, never both: whoever was in the costume workshop is taller than whoever carried the metal curtain rod, or the metal curtain rod was with whoever stayed in the side corridor.
3. Leo Marsh spent the blackout in the side corridor.
4. A smear of green greasepaint from the arm of the old sofa was found on the murder weapon and on the back of Harold’s jacket: whoever was in the green room struck the fatal blow.

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