Graham Linehan’s hit adaptation of the classic 1955 Ealing comedy The Ladykillers comes to the New Theatre, Cardiff from Tuesday 9 – Saturday 13 April. Starring Michele Dotrice as Mrs Wilberforce alongside Paul Bown, Clive Mantle, Chris McCalphy, Cliff Parisi and William Troughton, The Ladykillers has recently won Best New Comedy at the Whatsonstage.com Awards.The Ladykillers tells the story of the eccentric little old lady Mrs Wilberforce who lives alone with her parrot, General Gordon, in a strange lopsided house in King’s Cross. Her life is turned upside down by the arrival of Professor Marcus and his four friends, who between them make up the most unlikely group of criminals. Posing as amateur musicians, Professor Marcus and his gang rent rooms in Mrs Wilberforce’s house. The villains plot to involve her unwittingly in Marcus’ brilliantly conceived heist job. The police are left stumped, but Mrs Wilberforce becomes wise to their ruse and Marcus concludes that there is only one way to keep the old lady quiet. With only her parrot to help her, Mrs W. is alone with five desperate misfits and the plan starts to unravel in spectacular and hilarious fashion. This stage production has been adapted by Graham Linehan, best known for being the writer behind TV comedies Father Ted and The I.T. Crowd. Director Sean Foley is a multi award-winning stage director whose work in the West End includes The Play What I Wrote, Do You Come Here Often, Ducktastic, Pinter’s People and Joe Orton’s What The Butler Saw. The UK and Ireland tour of The Ladykillers follows the critically acclaimed West End run at London’s Gielgud Theatre. The production was nominated for five awards in the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best New Play, Best Direction, Best Set Design, Best Sound Design and Best Actress in a Play for Marcia Warren. Michele Dotrice plays Mrs Wilberforce. Michele is perhaps best known for her role as Betty, the long-suffering wife of Frank Spencer, played by Michael Crawford, in the BBC's highly successful series Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. Her other television credits include; A Month in the Country, The Winslow Boy, The Way We Live Now, Marple, A Thing Called Love and a guest appearance on the Morecambe and Wise Show. Michele’s most recent stage appearance was in When We Are Married at the Garrick Theatre, London. She also appeared in many productions with her late husband, Edward Woodward including Male of the Species, Richard III, Private Lives, Dead Secret, The Assassin, The Beggar's Opera and The Cemetery Club. Paul Bown plays Professor Marcus. Paul’s theatre credits include; Deliverance/Liberation, When We Are Married, Round And Round The Garden, On the Piste and The Alchemist. Television credits include; Doctors, Holby City, My Family and The Bill. Clive Mantle plays Major Courtney. His numerous television credits include Little John in Robin Of Sherwood and consultant Mike Barrett in Casualty and Holby City. More recently Clive appeared in Game Of Thrones. The Olivier nominated actor has also starred in various theatre productions on tour and in the West End including; The Price, A Streetcar Named Desire, Robin Hood, Educating Rita, The Play What I Wrote, Killing Castro and The Rocky Horror Show. Chris McCalphy plays One-Round. Recent theatre credits include; The Madness of George III on tour and in the West End, When We Are Married, Enjoy, You Can’t Take It With You and The Letter. TV credits include Five Daughters, Casualty and The Giblet Boys. Chris has also narrated various Natural History films for the BBC and The Discovery Channel as well as Voiceovers for Channel 4, BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, Aardman Animations and Radio 4. Cliff Parisi, who plays Louis, is best known for playing lovable rogue Minty in EastEnders. Most recently he starred as Fred in the acclaimed BBC drama Call the Midwife which returns for a second series in 2013. Other recent TV credits include Midsomer Murders, Bramwell, Hustle, Kavanagh QC and Hollyoaks William Troughton plays Harry. He was part of the original West End cast of The Ladykillers, understudying the role of Harry and Louis. William’s previous theatre credits include the The Woman in Black, The Holly And The Ivy, Getting On, Busted and My England. He has also appeared in the independent film Warhouse and Changing the Subject. The Ladykillers is at the New Theatre, Cardiff from Tuesday 9 – Saturday 13 April. Tickets are £8.00 - £30.00 and can booked via the Box Office on 029 2087 8889 or online* at www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk. *online sales carry a small transaction charge |
| New Theatre, Cardiff web site: www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk |
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Monday, March 18, 2013 |
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