Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder: ‘We’re two northerners singing about true crime’

The characters of Kathy and Stella “haven’t found their way in life and don’t really fit in,” according to Barbé.

The audience meet the pair eight years into recording a true-crime podcast in Kathy’s mum’s garage.

Despite the lack of listeners, they live and breathe the podcast and become even more obsessed with crime when their favourite author is murdered.

Naturally the pair take it upon themselves to investigate.

“And it all unravels from there,” Barbé says laughing.

As well as it being about two outsiders, the musical also touches on a number of other themes.

“It’s so jam packed with ideas and storylines, it’s not about one particular thing,” explains Hinds.

Of course one of the central themes is people’s obsession with true crime.

“I think people are fascinated by the psychology of a criminal mind and trying to understand how someone turns into a monster,” says Barbé.

For Hinds, the love that Kathy and Stella share for true crime is actually “more about finding a community that you can belong in and a safe space as opposed to just learning about murderers”.