THE LADYKILLERS (UK Tour) Review January 2013

One of Britain's best loved pictures, The Ladykillers has made the move from screen to stage and the blackly comic West End show is now touring the country. This comedy classic was up for five Olivier awards and is currently nominated for Best New Comedy and Best Set at the 2013 WhatsOnStage Awards.

Will Troughton and Michele Dotrice

With all these credentials behind it and Graham Linehan (Father Ted/The IT Crowd) at the helm, expectations are high but are completely met. The front cloth rises on the most spectacular set. Michael Taylor has created an entire lopsided house with every detail imaginable. Inside we find Mrs Wilberforce (Michele Dotrice) who with an empty room to spare acquires a lodger, Professor Marcus (Paul Brown) who soon invites his friends to stay. Unbeknownst to the unsuspecting old lady, Professor Marcus and his friends (who she believes are a string quartet) are in fact a criminal gang using the room to plot a heist at Kings Cross station.

Chris McCalphy and Shaun Williamson (Previous Cast)

The gang rehearse their plan in Mrs Wilberforce's home but the heist itself is played out humorously and very cleverly by remote control cars and trains that zoom across the stage and vertically up the front cloth.  

Joining Paul Brown's Professor Marcus in the farcical gang are Clive Mantle (The Vicar of Dibley) as Major Courtney, Chris McCalphy as One-Round, William Troughton as Harry Robinson and Cliff Parisi (Eastenders/Call The Midwife) joins the cast for 2013, taking over from Shaun Williamson as Louis Harvey. 

Each member of the gang bring a different element of hilarity and ridiculousness. Most notably William Troughton's constant slapstick habit of being hit by the spinning chalkboard. Chris McCalphy's One-Round is most loveable, child-like and clueless as he makes obviousness of the robbery on multiple occasions. Clive Mantle provides pure entertainment in revealing a surprising twist to his character. Cliff Parisi makes an excellent Romanian thug whilst Paul Brown expertly captures the insanity of crazed maniac Marcus. Marcus Taylor completes the principal cast as Constable MacDonald and as a scene-steeling old lady with an ear-trumpet!

The show does however belong to Mrs Wilberforce. Michele Dotrice is such an endearing actress and all eyes are on her as she dodders around her home, banging on the pipes to make the tap produce water and holding conversations with her parrot General Gordon. 

We caught up with Michele backstage in Malvern where the show played it's final venue of 2012. You can read my interview with her here. And watch our video interview with her below. 

As Michele mentions in the video, the coup de théâtre of The Ladykillers involves Mrs Wilberforce's friends coming round for tea and an impromptu concert from the criminal gang of masquerading musicians.  Four local ladies from each town along the tour are put through an audition process to win the chance of starring alongside Michele. You can read about Wolverhampton's audition day on the theatre's blog here. 

With William Troughton and Michele Dotrice

I find myself all too often saying "this show you HAVE to see" but the Midlands really is enjoying the best that theatre has to offer right now - The Ladykillers is no exception, a true comic masterpiece. The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is taken over by little old tea drinkers until Saturday 2nd February and you can book tickets online here or by calling the box office on 01902 42 92 12. 

THE LADYKILLERS (UK Tour) Interview with Michele Dotrice

After hours of traffic and floating through flood to reach the Malvern Festival Theatre we were given the warmest welcome backstage by Mrs Wilberforce herself, star of stage and screen - Michele Dotrice.

The Ladykillers play follows a similar premise to the films and premiered at the Liverpool Playhouse in 2011. The Ladykillers opened at the Gielgud Theatre, London in December 2011 before embarking on a 2012/13 UK tour which visits the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in January.

When asked about what makes the play such as success Michele Dotrice began by explaining that the story of this little old lady is one that touches the heart. "It's a beautiful classic of it's time, but manages to be current and up-to-date for modern audiences. It's a Black Comedy set in the 50's and there's a laugh every couple of seconds."

This production is pure entertainment and is packed with special effects and a magnificent set - a subsided house that's difficult for even the actors to move around - which all adds to the humour of course. "There's something funny for all ages" she added. "If it's physical comedy you like, we've got it, if it's witty banter - we've got that too. We've had very young audiences at the show as well as the elder generations, my young grandchildren loved it!"

"Mrs Wilberforce is rather a challenge to play. I've never played anyone quite like her, I have the padding, an extra droopy chest, a grey wig and make-up to make me look older (none of which I'll need towards the end of tour I'm sure!) but I'd like to think I have my own take on the character that offers a different perspective to Katie Johnson in the film. The character is beautifully written."

Michele Dotrice rose to fame 40 years ago as Frank Spencer's long suffering wife Betty in the TV series Some Mothers Do Ave Em. "I can't believe that after 40 years people still go on about it, it's still shown on TV and people still love it. Betty was a very important part of my life and working with Michael Crawford was fantastic. He's recently come back into my life, he's in New Zealand a lot, but he'll be coming to see me in The Ladykillers I hope. I loved working on television, but theatre is where you learn your craft. Particularly comedy is a very difficult form of entertainment on stage as night by night and venue by venue the audience reaction differs - and when you get it right, there's no greater buzz."

Aside from Clive Mantle baring an uncanny resemblance to John Cleese there is a definite Fawlty Towers/Monty Python feel to the play. Middle-aged men dressed as old ladies? Check!

From the writer of Father Ted and The IT Crowd, Graham Lineham, The Ladykiller's echoes the style of many popular British television series' and comes together perfectly to create such a fast-paced and tightly performed piece of theatre. The set by Michael Taylor as previously mentioned is breathtaking and the scene involving a car chase (without giving anything away) is very cleverly done and is hilariously silly.

Definitely one not to be missed The Ladykillers runs from 28th January - 2nd February 2013 at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre and tickets can be booked by calling the box office on 01902 42 92 12 or by visiting the website here: http://grandtheatre.info/WhatsOn_focus.asp?ShowId=635&sC=page2