As someone who isn’t a massive fan of farcical comedy, I went into seeing Graham Lineham's The Ladykillers pretty sceptically.
It is generally thought to be quite an old-fashioned, in-your-face and certainly not subtle form of theatre, and not something which would usually feature on my Sunday evening schedule.
I was however, very pleasantly surprised. Clearly very well- rehearsed, each member of the cast played their very different characters very well, and even the most complex scenes which could easily have wound up looking chaotic and losing the audience’s attention were very well executed.
[pullquote]Although an ambitious play choice, The Ladykillers proved to be a great success[/pullquote]The contrasts throughout the play were the most amusing element, with the flamboyance of “Professor” Marcus, the stoicism of Louis Harvey, the endearing foolery of the Major, the no-nonsense cockney lad of Harry and the slow-witted but very loveable “One-Round”, all of whom orchestrated themselves beautifully around the dainty innocence of Mrs Wilberforce.
The set was excellently put together, allowing the audience to see all the elements of the story very clearly, all of which were meticulously equipped with all the relevant features of a 1950s London sitting room. The delivery of the lines was, for the vast majority, totally faultless and timed in order to achieve the greatest amusement from the audience, all of whom (myself included) often found themselves laughing out loud at the tom foolery being displayed before us.
Although an ambitious play choice, The Ladykillers proved to be a great success. It encouraged the attendance of a wonderfully wide age range of audience members, who all enjoyed the performance in equal measure, from those who grew up with this sort of story-telling, to those for whom it was a first time experience.
Congratulations NUTS, you’ve pretty much nailed this one.