The Ladykillers
22nd Sept 2015
The Royalty has started the season with a cracking comedy
– The Ladykillers – adapted by Graham Linehan from the classic Ealing film of the same name.
In the opening scene Mrs Wilberforce (Lorna Breeze) is
seen reporting the suspicious behaviour of the newsagent, who she feels has
asked unnecessarily probing questions about the whereabouts of her house. She
is quite sure this is linked to some letters she wrote to the Times at the
beginning of the war...She is calmed by the Constable McDonald (Mik Richardson)who
points out that he was more likely asking because she had placed an ad in his
window for a room to rent. Thus the audience is set up to know that Mrs
Wilberforce is patriotic, honest, suspicious, and a little bit dotty...
Enter Professor Marcus who has responded to the ad and
finds the room to be a perfect location to plan a heist and stage the getaway. Mrs
Wilberforce is a sweet old lady who would pose no threat to his plan. Or would
she? Posing as a string quartet and their conductor, the gang arrive with their
instruments to “practice” in the upstairs room. They are a strange mix of
eccentrics: well spoken, educated Professor Marcus played brilliantly by
Michael Luke, is the brains behind the plan. His gang comprises the most
unmilitary Claude (Major Courtney) played with more camp than Butlins by Damien
Wood, One Round (Mr Lawson) a punch-drunk ex-boxer and the muscles of the
outfit, played with stereotypical precision by David Armstrong; Harry, (Mr
Robinson) good-looking, charming, plagued by nerves, popping a pill for every
situation, played with convincing OCD by Lee Stewart. And finally Louis, (Mr
Harvey) the killer from Eastern Europe, his cool exterior hiding the trauma of
childhood abuse and a resulting terror of old women - James Errington balances the dual personality of this character with aplomb - cool and dispassionate one minute, and roused to passion, whether anger or fear, the next.
As the play progresses the gang discover that Mrs
Wilberforce is a force to be reckoned with, appearing regularly with offers of
tea and an inclination to chat she disrupts their plan at every turn. Is she
just a lonely old woman seeking company, or is she suspicious of the activities
of this strange band of so-called musicians? She draws out the good and the bad in each of them.
A mixture of farce, slapstick and black humour, The
Ladykillers is a very English comedy. The characters are eccentric as only the English
can be, and the team at the Royalty under Andrew Barella's direction have put together a good production - the
comic timing and the interaction between the characters is almost faultless. If
there is a downside to the production, it would be the set which is a little
bit wobbly, and I admit to be a bit concerned that it may not last the week. However, the scene changes all work well despite the wobbles, and the technical
team more than make up for it with a robust lighting and sound set.
Well worth seeing, ignore the shortcomings of the set and
lose yourself in the great performance of a very English comedy. I’m looking
forward to the rest of the season, which promises to be interesting and entertaining.
The Ladykillers plays until 26th. Tickets are
only £8 available online or on the door.
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