Launched under the care of Graham Linehan (who has The IT Crowd & Father Ted amongst other writing credits under his belt), The Ladykillers is currently enjoying a run at the Vaudeville Theatre on the Strand in London’s West End.
A new refresh of the classic 1955 Ealing Comedy about a heist gone wrong, this version of The Ladykillers stars Angela Thorne as the fragile old landlady Mrs Wilberforce (who despite her age turns out to be nobody’s fool) and John Gordon Sinclair as the main villain of the piece, the scheming Professor Marcus. These two fine actors are backed up by a well-known ensemble cast which includes popular comedy actor Simon Day as suave confidence-trickster Major Courtney, Con O’Neill as violent Italian spiv Louis and Ralf Little as the hyperactive Harry.
This production has another major character that’s worth mentioning – the set. Designed by Michael Taylor, it is a veritable moveable feast. Initially, the audience is presented with the Escher-like vision of a multi-levelled Georgian townhouse decorated in an adorably chintzy style, but when the action calls for it the entire stage rotates to present the exterior of the building, complete with vertiginous drops and unstable chimney pots. The prop people get to have some fun too – like the film version this house is sited right next to the main railway line, and chairs dance across the floor and pictures fall from the walls when the 9:45 to Birmingham rumbles past…
Taken together, the cast, the tight and humorous script and the set of The Ladykillers represent a very neatly-wrapped package, but there is one small caveat which no production of this particular classic can possibly escape. Despite his broad acting talent, John Gordon Sinclair is not Alec Guinness – no actor taking on the part of the criminal mastermind can escape the comparison that every movie-fan in the audience is bound to make the moment that he steps out onto the stage.
If you think that you can handle that small disappointment then The Ladykillers is definitely worth a look – black comedies of this quality don’t appear on the West End stage all that often. The play is currently taking bookings through until late October 2013.
I must express my gratitude to Shows In London who were kind enough to provide a ticket for last week’s performance – Shows In London offer discounted tickets to plays, musicals and one-off events across London’s West End.