The Ladykillers

This is a wonderful amusing story adapted for the stage by Graham Lineham from the 1955 film. It tells of a charming and innocent old lady who lets her spare room out to a professor for the use of his musical quartet who are in fact a bunch of criminals planning a robbery. She unwittingly becomes involved with the crime that they have planned and although they try many ways to remove her from the scene she ends up being the only surviving one.

I must give special mention to the set. A lot of thought and hard work had gone into creating the impression of a house suffering from subsidence and the overall effect was very convincing. They obviously didn't have the space that some theatres have but good use had been made of what was available. The furnishings and props were well chosen and fitted the period well giving a lovely homely atmosphere to the set. The lighting and sound effects for  the passing trains were very believable and even a little spooky.

A very strong cast had been assembled headed by Jane Ellison-Bates as Mrs Wilberforce. She came over well as the naive well-meaning old lady who innocently gets sucked into the plot. The five crooks were very well cast and individually gave us some very amusing moments however I did feel they weren't all that confident as a group, maybe it was first night nerves. The lack of space in the bedroom, five men plus a cello,did make it very difficult for them but the director had positioned them well. There were good supporting roles from the amiable policeman and the excitable 'friends' of Mrs Wilberforce. The costumes for the cast were excellent and I liked the individuality of the men's outfits.

This was a well presented play with lots of laughs and the loud applause from the audience was well deserved.

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