The Ladykillers

Last night Furtle and I went to see “The LadyKillers” at the Gielgud, in the company of westernind and forbinproject.

The play follows the Ealing Movie quite closely and even replicates the odd speech, but the characters get a little more development in the play since it all takes place indoors (except for one significant scene), unlike the original film. The bank heist takes place off stage and is dealt with in a cleverly comedic way with models.

Peter Capaldi takes the Alec Guinness role of Professor Marcus and is a superbly sinister comic lead, clearly having immense fun and knowingly nodding at the audience after some of his lines.

Marcia Warren plays the role of Mrs Wilberforce, the elderly and naïve widow who has cried wolf one time too many to be taken seriously by the local police.


I don’t want to give too much away; if you love the movie, you will love this production, too. The set is magnificent and cleverly deployed, depicting in turn, the street, the inside of the house, the roof and a railway tunnel – this latter for one brief scene and yet it is fully realised on stage.

All the characters are well realised and there’s not a weak performance from anyone. Spot on.



Cast List in order of appearance:

Constable MacDonald: Harry Peacock
Mrs Louisa Wilberforce: Marcia Warren
Professor Marcus: Peter Capaldi
Major Courtney: James Fleet
Harry Robinson: Stephen Wright
One-Round: Clive Rowe
Louis Harvey: Ben Miller
Mrs. Jane Tromleyton: Beverley Walding