The Ladykillers

THE LAUGH OUT LOUD, CLASSIC BLACK COMEDY

Based on the 1955 Ealing comedy of the same name, this reboot of The Lady Killers by Bafta award-winning writer Graham Linehan won rave reviews when it first opened in London in 2011. It returns to the West End with a completely new cast and brand new stage design by Michael Taylor; the house in which the play is set is full of odd angles and misalignments, providing a slightly surreal and nightmarish setting which is perfect for the delightfully macabre tale.

The Ladykillers is vibrantly acted by an ensemble cast of well-known TV and theatre actors including Angela Thorne, best known for her role in To The Manor Born. They strike the perfect balance between the physical comedy and lunacy that have become hallmarks of this production.

WHAT IS THE LADYKILLERS ABOUT?

A gang of criminals, lead by the quick-witted Professor Marcus, plan to rob a train at Kings Cross station and decide to rent rooms in a nearby house while they prepare their nefarious plot. The house is owned and occupied by an endearing elderly widow called Mrs Wilberforce. As a cover, Professor Marcus convinces Mrs Wilberforce that the gang are an amateur string quartet in need of rooms for rehearsal.

Of course, things don't go according to plan for the criminals. The increasingly suspicious Mrs W soon discovers what the gang is up to, so they decide to kill her. Such a task proves more difficult than it seems when bodies, not one belonging to the little old lady, start to pile up.