The Ladykillers - Gielgud Theatre (Review)
Review by Shanna Schreuder
OFFERING an evening of pure escapist pleasure, The Ladykillers is comedy at its best. Adapted by award-winning writer Graham Linehan (Father Ted and The IT Crowd) and directed by Sean Foley (The Play What I Wrote), this stage version of the classic heist movie has the perfect combination of slapstick, witty dialogue and great one-liners.
And if that isn’t reward enough, it also has an all-star cast – Peter Capaldi, James Fleet, Ben Miller, Clive Rowe, Stephen Wight and Marcia Warren – who all are experts when it comes to making audiences laugh.
Although Lineham has re-written the original script by expanding the characters and adding more physical comedy, he’s stayed true to the plot. So, if you haven’t seen the original film with Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers (or even the Tom Hanks remake directed by the Coen brothers), then here’s a brief summary…
Mrs Wilberforce, an eccentric old lady who shares her house with the ashes of her late husband and a grotesque-looking cockatoo, is propositioned by the crooked Professor Marcus to rent her spare room out to him and his gang of “musicians”.
Thrilled by the idea of having a troupe of players practising in her home, she accepts his offer, but unbeknown to her their real motive for staying is to plan their sting operation and have her play a leading role in the robbery.
The rotating set, designed by Michael Taylor, is quite something to behold and makes you feel like you’re a giant watching a doll’s house come to life. There’s also a scene with electric toy cars driving up the side of the house – fun and original!
As I mentioned before, the play has a brilliant cast. With similar intonation as The Simpsons’ Mr Burns, Peter Capaldi’s insidious Professor Marcus has just the right amount of slimy creepiness about him.
James Fleet is perfectly cast as the bumbling, cross-dressing enthusiast Major Courtney, while Ben Miller is always a joy to watch, especially when he does an accent; making his turn as the Romanian hit man Louis Harvey such an absolute hoot.
Clive Rowe as the simple-minded ex-boxer One-Round is endearing, but shows what he’s really made of during his grand finale, and Stephen Wight as the pill-popping Harry Robinson is a great clown as he gracefully takes all the hits.
Last but not least, Marcia Warren’s Mrs Wilberforce is utterly magnificent in every way.
The Ladykillers is on at the Gielgud Theatre until February 18, 2012, but I would book your tickets now, because this is a West End play you can’t afford to miss.