THE BUTLER DID IT
BATS Theatre, The Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
14/10/2025 - 18/10/2025
Production Details
Written and directed by Isabella Murray and Revena Correll Trnka
Based on work by Isabella Murray and Kelsey Aldersley
Duct Taped On
There’s been a murder at the theatre and everybody’s a suspect! But never fear, for renowned detectives Didit and Dunnit are back and on the case, this time to figure out who killed their boss right before their eyes.
Join Wellington’s best detective (and the other one) in this tangle of a story, as they break out the ol’ magnifying glass and as much red string as they can find to solve the case of the Chief’s death.
The Butler Did It returns for its third season (following two successful runs, including a sold out Fringe season in 2023). It is a fast-paced comedy with a joke for everyone. An anti-cop murder mystery, now with even more twists, more quips, and more jabs at Lower Hutt than ever before..
14-18 October, 6:30pm, 60min run time
BATS Theatre (1 Kent Terrace, Wellington)
Tickets: $20-$30
https://bats.co.nz/whats-on/the-butler-did-it/
Starring:
Dylan Hutton as Detective T.B. Didit
David Bowers-Mason as Detective Hugh Dunnit
Ethan Cranefield as Basil Peacock
Ruby Kemp as Angie McEwan
The Butler Did It is based on work by Isabella Murray and Kelsey Aldersley
Lighting/Sound by Ethan Cranefield
Special thanks to William Cho
Theatre , Comedy ,
60 mins
Lively detection and deductions with irony, satire and an unexpected denouement
Review by Margaret Austin 15th Oct 2025
The set for The Butler Did It at BATS Dome is deceptively simple: a sofa, a few armchairs, a coat rack and a standalone wardrobe. Little do we realise what part in the action some of the furniture will play! One of our characters is already onstage, assiduously dusting all the above, while glancing occasionally at a non-existent watch. An intriguing beginning.
This is the third season of what I’m about to see (it sold out at the Meanwhile Gallery in Fringe 2023) but my first exposure to the talents of Duct Taped On. Talents plus inventiveness, I’d have to say: there’s word play aplenty. We get a lively performance, mostly script-based but leaving room for always welcome improvisation.
Our duster, Angie (Ruby Kemp), has disappeared now. Enter Inspector No Crime (Ethan Cranefield). That may be his name (he’s credited online as Basil Peacock) but the implied irony is soon to be exposed. Because there’s a crime alright – a murder of the Chief of Police, what’s more, and it involves one of those pieces of furniture!
But not to worry – Detective T.B. Didit (Dylan Hutton) and Detective Hugh Dunnit (David Bowers-Mason) are on the job. Irony turns into satire with Lower Hutt and the police force as the targets. “We’ll sort it” shouldn’t get a laugh but it does. Interchange between Didit and Dunnit reveals character, quarrels and contradictions.
Now we get deductions – some from the audience – and more pokes at police, and the reappearance of Angie. It’s all hands on deck – not to say the corpse! The suspect is surely someone who’s here! Suspicions, suppositions and accusations start to fly: who was doing what in the green room before the show? What about the stage crew? Especially the sound operator! Mayhem grows and is completed by the re entrance of Inspector No Crime, whose song and dance act is a highlight.
The denouement is as entertaining as it’s unexpected.
Writers and directors of this clever piece of theatre are Isabella Murray and Revena Correll Trnka; and it’s based on work by Isabella Murray and Kelsey Aldersley. Lighting and sound are by Ethan Cranefield – sound familiar? With special thanks to Willian Cho.
Check it out.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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