CRIMES, CAMERA, ACTION Will Embark on UK Tour

When a glamorous Hollywood starlet is stabbed on-set, there's only one man fit for the job of solving the crime: Detective Stan Shakespeare. Following its premiere at Theatre Royal Bath in August 2021, award-winning company New Old Friends return to touring with the latest instalment of their ever-popular Crimes... series. Inspired by the classic English writing of Agatha Christie, Noël Coward and PG Wodehouse, the madcap comedy thrillers have so far seen the company head to locations as varied as the English Riviera, Siberian railways and the banks of the Nile. This time, they're in Golden-era Hollywood bringing in the world of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett with a slippery, hilarious case ready and waiting to be solved.

When an accidental stabbing of a movie star occurs on set, it sets in motion a bizarre chain of increasingly unfathomable events. Paying respectful, yet playful, homage to Humphrey Bogart, the latest creation by New Old Friends is every bit as energetic, inventive and amusing as the previous offerings in the series.

A cast of just four actors will again tackle multiple roles - sometimes within the same scene - bringing the full force of New Old Friend's talent for skillfully ramshackle comedy to the stage.

Feargus Woods Dunlop from New Old Friends said "We couldn't be happier to be returning to touring after the Covid shutdown at Theatre Royal Bath, a venue which has supported us from day one. We have always loved Film-Noir and knew we wanted to take the Crimes... series into a slightly new world to give us fresh tropes to play with and new landscapes to create nonsense in. There is a slightly different structure to a Hollywood private-eye story than an English cosy-crime one and that has been great fun to explore. We are very excited to present this fresh spin on the popular series."

New Old Friends are an award-winning theatre company dedicated to creating original comedy theatre, founded in 2008 and run by husband and wife team Feargus Woods Dunlop and Heather Westwell. Most recently, they staged festive farce A Christmas Getaway at Theatre Royal Bath (December 2021) which was highlighted as one of inews' Top Christmas shows for 2021. 2020 saw New Old Friends release the first in a new audio drama series Comedy Whodunnits For Your Ears, with Crimes Against Christmas (OnComm Award winner) charting at #2 in the Apple iTunes Fiction chart and inside the top 200 overall podcast charts as well as featuring on BBC Radio 4's Front Row. Recent instalments also include Crimes, Clues and Christmas, Crimes on Centre Court and Crimes of a Country Garden as well as an Autumn regional tour of Crimes in Egypt.

In 2017 and 2018 New Old Friends were awarded the Creative Bath Award for writing. Previous shows also include five instalments of the hugely popular Crimes... series of comedy thrillers. In summer 2019, their adaptation of Anthony Horowitz' The Falcon's Malteser enjoyed a six-week run at London's Vaults Theatre. It was selected as a 'Critic's Choice' for 'Best Family Shows' by the Guardian. Their latest adaptation for families, Swiss Family Robinson (Top 40 Christmas shows 2019, inews) premiered at The Core at Corby Cube in 2019.

Tour Dates

11th-12th Feb Merlin Theatre, Frome

Bath Rd, Frome, BA11 2HG

Fri-Sat 7.30pm, 2.30pm Sat Matinee| £16

www.merlintheatre.co.uk | 01373 465949

16th-17th Feb Beck Theatre, Hayes

Grange Rd, Hayes, UB3 2UE

Wed-Thurs 7.30pm| £25/£23

https://becktheatre.org.uk/ | 020 8561 8371

18th - 19th Feb The Dukes, Lancaster

Moor Ln, Lancaster LA1 1QE

Fri-Sat 7.30pm | From £21

https://dukeslancaster.org/ | 01524 598500

20th Feb Octagon Theatre, Yeovil

Hendford, Yeovil, Somerset, BA20 1UX

Sun 7.30pm | £15-£16.50

www.octagon-theatre.co.uk | 01935 462341

22nd Feb Carriageworks, Leeds

3 Millennium Square, Leeds LS2 3AD

Tues 7.30pm | £16/£14

https://www.carriageworkstheatre.co.uk/| 0113 376 0318

23rd Feb Middlesbrough Theatre

The Avenue, Middlesbrough TS5 6SA

Wed 7.30pm | £18

https://www.middlesbroughtheatre.co.uk/ | 01642 815181

24th Feb Rialto Plaza, Coventry

85 Moseley Ave, Coundon, Coventry CV6 1HR

Thurs 7.30pm | £18

Rialtoplaza.com | 024 7660 1000

25th-26th Feb Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford

Milbrook, Guildford, GU1 3UX

Fri-Sat 7.30pm, 2.30pm Sat matinee | From £26.50

www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk | 01483 440000

1st-2nd March Theatre Royal, Winchester

Jewry St, Winchester SO23 8SB

Tue-Wed 7.30pm, 2.30pm matinee Wed | £21

https://www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk/ | 01962 840440

3rd-5th March Palace Theatre, Southend

430 London Road, Westclliff-On-Sea, SS0 9LA

Thurs-Sat 8pm, 2.30pm matinee Sat | £22-£29

Southendtheatre.org.uk | 01702 351135

8th March Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon

Canal Wharf, Brecon, LD3 7EW

Tues TIME | PRICE

https://www.brycheiniog.co.uk/en | 01874 611622

9th March The Torch Theatre, Milford Haven

St Peter's Rd, Milford Haven SA73 2BU

Wed 7.30pm | £18/£16

https://www.torchtheatre.co.uk/ | 01646 695267

10th March Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl

Esplanade, Porthcawl CF36 3YW

Thurs 6pm | £17

https://awenboxoffice.com/grand-pavilion | 01656 815995

11th March Key Theatre, Peterborough

Embankment Rd, Peterborough PE1 1EF

Fri 7.30pm | £15

https://keytheatrepeterborough.ticketsolve.com/shows| 01733 207239

12th March Theatre Royal, Margate

Addington St, Margate CT9 1PW

Sat 7.30pm | £17/£15

theatreroyalmargate.com | 01843 292795

15th March The Lights, Andover

West Street, Andover SP10 1AH

Tues 7.30pm | £14.50

https://www.thelights.org.uk/ | 01264 368368

16th-18th March The Theatre, Chipping Norton

2 Spring Street, Chipping Norton, Oxon, OX7 5NL

Weds-Fri 7.30pm, 2.30pm matinee Thurs | £16/£14

www.chippingnortontheatre.com | 01608 642350

19th March Stafford Gatehouse

Eastgate Street, Stafford, ST16 2LT

Sat 7.30pm | £17

www.staffordgatehousetheatre.co.uk | 01785 619080

22nd-23rd March Newbury Corn Exchange

Market Pl, Newbury RG14 5BD

Tues-Wed 7.45pm | £18.50/£17

https://cornexchangenew.com/ | 0845 5218 218

25th-26th March Tacchi-Morris Arts Centre, Taunton

School Road, Taunton, TA2 8PD

Fri-Sat 7.30pm, 2.30pm matinee Sat | £15

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