Preview: Vet. Detective., Wardrobe Theatre

Amateur sleuths should beat a path to the Wardrobe Theatre this month, where a grizzled detective will be trying to crack one of his strangest cases yet.

Parodying the likes of Luther, Broadchurch and All Creatures Great & Small, Vet. Detective. is the debut from Bad Vs Evil, a new company made up of Wardrobe favourites Harry Humberstone and Andrew Kingston, who together have devised and performed in previous Wardrobe Theatre shows such as Oedipuss In Boots and Muppits Die Hard.

In the seemingly idyllic English countryside, a dark force is stirring. Threatening to destroy the very fabric of society, a vicious crime wave spreads throughout the animal kingdom. As the mystery of who, or what is responsible for the carnage spirals out of control, the job will fall to a seasoned and deeply flawed FIPU (Fauna Investigation and Preservation Unit) detective.

Here’s Andrew to tell us more.

So, Andrew, give us a little plot teaser for Vet. Detective.
A complex, alcoholic detective who is also a vet gets sucked into a high-level crime. Using both his professions, he and his partner set out to solve the crime before it’s too late. High-stakes action will combine with very silly comedy, and of course the Vet Detective and his partner will probably not get along all that well…

‘Vet. Detective.’ affectionately parodies the TV detective genre… and, you guessed it, the TV vet genre

Which favourite TV vet / detective series are you affectionately parodying here?
Our main source materials on this have been Luther and Line of Duty. There’s the myth of the brilliant, maverick detective, who breaks rules, gets up people’s noses, but is ultimately lauded. It’s a very macho trope which feels ripe for parody. Then there’s Line of Duty, which is all about process, jargon, and complex investigations. We’re drawing on both styles in equal measure, with just a hint of All Creatures Great and Small, and a healthy dollop of Naked Gun.

That mix of genres echoes the Wardrobe’s various genre-merging hit shows – Oedipuss in Boots, Muppits Die Hard etc. How much does this show resemble those?
For our first show we very much wanted to build on the style we’ve built with the Wardrobe. Vet. Detective. will definitely appeal to fans of the Wardrobe mashups we’ve made, whilst also having its own unique feel.

“Our grizzled, complex, alcoholic but brilliantly minded hero”. From Wallander to Rebus via Jackson Brodie, why are these detectives are always themselves such… textured people?
These characters always tend to be on the edge of society. They carry with them that air of danger, which makes them more of an antihero. I suppose that makes them more rounded human characters. For us, that makes them very exciting to parody!

Tell us about Bad vs Evil: who, when, why…
We were formed earlier this year, when we realised that we wanted to be able to make more of our own work all year round. We’ve already learned loads and are making plans for later this year and beyond! We want to continue making comedy in the style that we always have, and hopefully add some new styles to our range of work as well, and of course continue to work with a range of artists and venues across the city.

Vet. Detective. July 25-Aug 17, Wardrobe Theatre. For more info, visit thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/vet-detective

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