The Detective’s Handbook

Presented by New Musicals Australia and Hayes Theatre Co

Director Jonathan Biggins
Musical Director Michael Tyack
Choreographer Christopher Horsey
Set and Costume Designer James Browne
Sound Designer Jeremy Silver
Executive Producer Neil Gooding
General Manager Victoria Wildie

Starring Tony Cogin, Sheridan Harbridge, Christopher Horsey, Lara Mulchay, Justin Smith

Chicago, 1950. A city in the grip of a crime epidemic. Two dead cops have just been discovered.

Enter Frank Thompson, a hardboiled detective who knows just what it takes to get a result. His new partner, Jimmy Hartman, couldn’t be more different. Young, fresh and enthusiastic Jimmy is determined to clean up the mean streets without breaking the rules. Following the clues, the old dog and the young pup are led into a world of seedy bars and femme fatales. Will the new recruit teach the experienced detective a thing or two about police work? Will officers Hammett and Spade ever clean out the evidence locker? Will the criminal mastermind be discovered? And just who is the mysterious Miss Raines?

The Detective’s Handbook is the result of when a former rapper develops an obsession with the golden age of detective novels. Coupled with a bright and lively jazz score, this new Australian musical is guaranteed to have you laughing out loud as Thompson and Hartman investigate the crime in an hilarious clash of the old guard and the new recruit, determined to do it ‘by the book’.