Saturday 9 September 2017

Theatre: The Ladykillers.....


Back to theatre season after having the summer off, and a great one to start with!


The New Wolsey Theatre, Salisbury Playhouse and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch by arrangement with Fiery Angel Limited, London presents

The Classic Ealing Comedy on a new Regional Tour.

When Mrs Wilberforce puts a sign in her newsagent’s window advertising ‘A Room to Let’, she’s delighted when the mysterious Professor Marcus proclaims it perfect for rehearsing his unorthodox string quintet. She soon discovers that she is not making tea for a motley band of musicians, but harbouring a hardened gang of criminals and conmen planning the great Kings Cross Train Robbery!

Graham Linehan (Father Ted, The IT Crowd) has adapted this much-loved film for the stage, mixing madcap comedy and criminal capers to hilarious effect. As his masterplan goes off the rails, and the bodies drop onto them, it begins to dawn on the Professor that, in Mrs Wilberforce and General Gordon, her extraordinary featherless parrot, he may have finally met his match.

From the motion picture screenplay by William Rose by special arrangement with Studiocanal and with Fiery Angel Ltd, London

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Have to say it was a brilliant set which impressed us even before we'd taken our seats.
This completely rotated to show the inside with kitchen that had boiler trouble, staircase and doors to rooms and understairs cupboard.  The stage had been made bigger to accommodate it and as lots of the action happened in the upstairs bedroom I found myself with a bit of a stiff neck as we were in the very front row, but that really is my only gripe. 

The actors are all well known professionals, many I recognised from tv (although one I was convinced was someone else but that could have been the angle of my neck hahaha). The script was fast and funny and brilliantly delivered, quite close to how I remember the film. The lovely Ann Penfold created an adorable Mrs Wilberforce. 
All four of us thoroughly enjoyed it. 
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