London’s only permanent music hall venue is staging a brand-new murder mystery musical this autumn, combining music hall comedy, farce and audience participation in a show that invites guests to become detectives for the evening. The Pleasures of Fanny – A Murder Mystery Musical runs from 2nd to 6th October 2026 at Brick Lane Music Hall in Silvertown, east London, with tickets starting from £45.
Written by Shannon Rewcroft and Jack Pallister — who also appear in the cast — the production centres on the fictional Silvertown Lovies Amateur Group, or The SLAGs, as they perform their latest musical, inspired loosely by John Cleland’s notorious 18th-century novel Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. The piece follows a young woman arriving in London to seek her fortune, but the evening takes a darker turn when a sinister killing is uncovered mid-performance, leaving the amateur troupe shaken and the audience suddenly embroiled in a murder investigation.
After the interval, a second murder forces the venue into lockdown, and the boundary between stage and auditorium dissolves entirely. Each table forms its own detective squad, piecing together suspects’ motives, movements and alibis before submitting a verdict. Once all accusations are in, the identity of the killer is revealed.
Dinner, Dancing and a Dose of Danger
Performances are accompanied by a choice of afternoon tea, a three-course lunch or a three-course dinner, with evening shows running until 10.30pm followed by dancing until midnight. Audiences are also encouraged — though not required — to dress in keeping with the show’s 1940s setting, with prizes on offer for the best-dressed. Afternoon tea performances are priced from £45, lunchtime performances from £55, and evening performances from £59.99.
Lucy Hayes, Executive Director of Brick Lane Music Hall, described the production as a natural fit for the venue’s ethos. “‘The Pleasures of Fanny’ has everything we love about music hall – great songs, larger-than-life characters, plenty of silliness and a real sense of occasion – but with the added twist of a murder mystery that puts the audience right at the heart of the action,” she said. “We want people to come along, enjoy a fantastic meal and a really entertaining show, and then suddenly find themselves having to work out who might be a murderer. It’s enormous fun, whether you’re a seasoned detective or completely hopeless at spotting whodunnit.”
Artistic Director Zara Kattan added that the new show forms part of a broader effort to widen the venue’s audience: “Music hall has always been about bringing people together for a really good night out, and that’s what we want Brick Lane Music Hall to be today. We’re introducing Sunday performances for the first time and we really want people who perhaps haven’t thought that music hall was for them before to come through the doors and discover that it absolutely can be.”
A Venue With Deep Roots in British Music Hall
Brick Lane Music Hall was founded in 1992 by Vincent Hayes MBE, who appears in the cast of the new production and who received his honour for services to British music hall in 2013. The venue, situated in Silvertown in the London Borough of Newham, has built a loyal following for its blend of live performance and dining, and holds a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award for 2026 as well as the Best Food and Drink prize at the Fringe Theatre Awards 2026.
The format of combining a theatrical evening with a full meal has grown in popularity across the UK in recent years, with immersive and interactive dining experiences attracting audiences who might not typically visit a conventional theatre. Brick Lane Music Hall’s model — rooted in the variety and communal energy of the Victorian and Edwardian music hall tradition — sits comfortably within that trend while maintaining a distinctive identity tied to a specific British cultural heritage.
Recent productions at the venue have drawn strong critical notices. Its 2025 Christmas show and 2026 January pantomime were described as “an unequivocal five star triumph” by London Theatre Reviews and “a rip-roaring production full of variety, quality and cheeky laughs” by Broadway World.
The Cast
The Pleasures of Fanny features a cast that includes Shannon Rewcroft, Ross Tomlinson, Lucy Reed, Andrew Robley, Vincent Hayes, Jack Pallister and Annabelle Fage. Tomlinson’s screen credits include Richard Eyre’s Allelujah and Adam Kay’s This Is Going to Hurt. Rewcroft’s stage work spans productions at Theatre Royal Windsor, the London Palladium and the Orange Tree Theatre. Pallister won the 2024 Carl Alan Award for Theatre Choreography. Fage, a Mountview-trained performer, makes her Brick Lane Music Hall debut having previously performed as a cast member with Disney Cruise Line.
The press night takes place on Saturday 3rd October, with doors opening at 5.30pm and dinner served from 6.30pm before the show begins at 8.15pm. Full listings and booking information are available at the Brick Lane Music Hall website.
