Twisted Comedy THE LADYKILLERS Kicks Off The Court's 2015-16 Season Tonight

The Ladykillers, an irresistibly twisted black comedy in which a gang of criminal misfits pose as an amateur chamber orchestra, opens The Court Theatre's Meridian Energy 2015/16 season tonight 25 July.

The story is about an elderly lady living in a tumbled down house in King's Cross, London, who needs a lodger. When the charming Professor Marcus turns up on Mrs Wilberforce's doorstep, she couldn't be happier. It's even better when his friends arrive to rehearse for their amateur string quintet.

Of course, they are not what they seem. The quintet is in fact a band of crooks who plant themselves in the old lady's upstairs room to plan a bank heist.

Mrs Wilberforce soon wises up to their ruse and the fraudulent quintet decide to dispatch her before she talks. With only her mangy parrot, General Gordon, to help her, Mrs Wilberforce is alone with five desperate men. But who will be forced to face the music?

Nominated for five Olivier Awards including Best Play, Graham Linehan's razor-sharp adaptation of the classic 1955 Ealing Studios film (which starred Peter Sellers and Alec Guinness) wowed audiences and won rave reviews when it premièred on the West End in 2011.

But this stage show is far from a knock-off of the enduringly popular British film. Whilst Linehan (The IT Crowd, Father Ted and Black Books) has honoured the ingenious premise of the film, he has created an exuberantly inventive stage comedy packed with laughs, dark humour and verbal brilliance that exists in its own right alongside the original.

The Court Theatre's production brings together a group of New Zealand theatre heavyweights under the direction of Ross Gumbley. The cast includes Rima Te Wiata in the role of Mrs Wilberforce; Philip Aldridge as Professor Marcus; Geoffrey Heath as the Major, a confidence-lacking con man; John Bach as big and dumb One Round, an ex-pugilist who finds a passion for the cello; Dan Bain as Louis, the word-mangling Romanian hit man; Andrew Ford as Harry, a cockney spiv with an eye for the ladies, and Tim Bartlett as Constable MacDonald.

"What excites me with this cast is that we have these incredibly experienced comedy actors married up with two of our best youngest comedians in Dan Bain and Andrew Ford," says Gumbley. "I can't wait to see the audience's reaction to the alchemy they produce."

The Ladykillers season run from 25 July to 28 August 2015 at The Court Theatre.

DETAILS:

Cast:
Philip Aldridge: Marcus; Geoffrey Heath: Major; Rima Te Wiata: Mrs Wilberforce; John Bach: One Round; Dan Bain: Louis; Andrew Ford: Harry; Tim Bartlett: Constable MacDonald

Production Team:
Ross Gumbley: Director; Harold Moot: Set Design; Stephen Robertson: Costume Design; Giles Tanner: Lighting Design; Sean Hawkins: Sound Design; Danielle Ferreira Beckner: Properties; Jo Bunce: Stage Manager; Annie Pearce: Production Manager; Sean Hawkins: Operator

To book, phone 03 963 0870 or visit www.courttheatre.org.nz. Tickets $57-$23.

Show Times:

· Opening Night: 7:30pm Saturday July 25

· Forum Night with Cast & Crew: 6:30pm Monday July 27

· Matinée: 2pm Saturday August 15

· 6.30pm Monday & Thursday

· 7.30pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

For more information visit The Ladykillers on The Court Theatre Website.

To post a comment, you must register and login.