Darkly comic tale being brought to life by Chapel Players

The classic Ealing comedy, The Ladykillers, is the group’s autumn production.

It is the darkly comic tale of a criminal gang, planning the heist of the century - but they need the help of a sweet and innocent old lady to pull it off! This version was written for the stage by the award-winning writer, Graham Linehan.

Posing as amateur musicians, Professor Marcus (played by Stephen Kettle) and his gang rent rooms in the lopsided house of the sweet - but strict - Mrs Wilberforce (Helena Ashbury).

The villains include cheeky cockney Harry Robinson (Pete Goddard); burly strongman One-Round (Rob Fotherby); Romanian gangster Louis Harvey (Alan Tolley) and ex-Army conman Major Courtney (Joe Hall). They plot to involve Mrs Wilberforce in the heist, as no-one would suspect her - but she learns the truth, and is left to try to convince five dangerous men to do the right thing and hand themselves into the police. But who will be forced to face the music?

This production is highly personal for director Becky Simpson, who has fond memories of watching the old black and white film with her dad, Alan. When the stage version came to London in 2011, it was the last theatre trip they were able to do together, and both really enjoyed it.

This Chapel Players’ production was originally scheduled for 2020, so there's been a plenty of time for planning in the meantime, with an ambitious and complicated set design, brilliantly executed by Dave Mowl and his backstage team.

Lines have been learned and the team is ready for some laughs and black humour!

The Ladykillers will be performed at Chapel Playhouse on Friday October 21, Saturday October 22, Friday October 28 and Saturday October 29 at 7.45pm. Tickets are priced at £10 or £8 concessions and are available via www.ticketsource.co.uk/chapel-players or by calling 07522 73 6161.