The night my client committed ‘murder’

Thursday, 6 August 2026

I haven’t posted in a while so let’s fix that with a good story.

Last night Prab Riat invited me along to Murder Inc’s improvised murder mystery at Seven Arts in Leeds.

Thank you Prab for the invitation, and to Marianne Smith from AD:VENTURE, for the introduction that started it all.

Plot twist: my client turned out to be the murderer. Acting, mostly. Thankfully only on stage, so no crisis comms required.

After several years in West Yorkshire Police communications, I’ve spent plenty of time around investigations. Watching a room solve a fictional crime for fun rather than writing the press release on a real one, was not lost on me.

What struck me most wasn’t the performance, though it was a good one. Improvisation isn’t about being the funniest person in the room or wanting to be on stage. It isn’t stand-up comedy. It’s the skillset  behind it.

Listening properly, thinking on your feet, adapting when the unexpected happens, and having the confidence to keep going without a script.

As leaders and business owners, we’ve all experienced those moments. Presenting to a room. Pitching for work. Walking into a difficult conversation. Battling imposter syndrome while trying not to let it show. Most of us are winging it somewhere, hoping nobody notices.

Those aren’t acting skills. They’re business skills. Skills that are rarely taught but everyone needs.

It’s exactly what Prab, a chartered civil engineer who’s quite literally used to bridging gaps, has built Think Fast Collective around. Giving technical teams and leaders the tools to think on their feet when it matters.

It’s a privilege supporting that story, and it’s why I’ve loved working with Prab on the communication strategy. Not a one-off brief, but something that’s growing alongside the business, a phase two about to be built on what we learned in phase one.

Because a comms strategy isn’t a document you hand over and walk away from. It’s something that must move as the business does, and that only works if someone stays close enough to see where the shifts are coming. Counsel on the journey, rather than a name that disappears after the deliverable lands.

Thank you for having me, Prab. There are some exciting projects ahead, and I can’t wait to help tell those stories too.

Sometimes the best PR starts by helping people find the confidence to tell their own.

• Full credit to the Murder Inc cast for a brilliantly plotted evening. I’m still not sure how they read the room and stayed one step ahead of us the whole way through.