Steve Williams and Giles Tebbitts in BLT’s December 2015 production of The Ladykillers, directed by Mike Savill. (Photo: Martin Phillips)
Fri 4 – Sat 12 December 2015 at 7.45pm (no show Sun 6)
The Ladykillers
by Graham Linehan
Directed by Mike Savill
Based on the Ealing comedy, and since reworked by the Coen Brothers in 2005, this multi-Olivier nominated adaptation by Graham Linehan infuses the classic 50s film with a modern day pace, punch and sensibility. Being the writer of Father Ted and The IT Crowd (amongst many others), Linehan does not skimp on the comic lines and situations and there is plenty for actors to sink their teeth into in terms of verbal byplay and physical humour.
The plot is, at least on the surface, very straightforward: posing as musicians, a gang rent rooms in the house of Mrs Wilberforce, a sweet little old lady, plotting to involve her as an unwitting stooge in a heist job. As is often the case, things go very wrong and events unravel with darkly hilarious results.
CAST:
Constable Macdonald : Mark Dempsey
Mrs Wilberforce : Jan Greenhough
Professor Marcus : Stephen Gray
Major Courtney : Steve Williams
One-Round : Giles Tebbitts
Harry Robinson : Paul Johnson
Louis Harvey : Howie Ripley
Mrs Tromleyton : Penny Cullen
The following link will give a further insight into the nature of the play when first it was performed:
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/oct/30/the-ladykillers-theatre-graham-linehan
If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in contact with the director, Mike Savill, at savbloke@hotmail.com or on 07940 495 474.
“A lunatic farce that’s as black as a policeman’s hat, The Ladykillers is as irresistible as ever.” – Time Out