THE LADYKILLERS knock 'em dead in the West End

THE LADYKILLERS, Graham Linehan's brand-new stage adaptation of the revered classic Ealing comedy opened at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End to ecstatic notices accross the board.

The comedy, which mixes witty one-liners with slapstick, farce and theatrical spectacle tells the story of a group of mismatched theives who pose as a classical string quartet and proceed to plan a heist from their rehearsal room, rented from a sweet little old lady. When frail Mrs. Wilberforce rumbles them they decide that the only solution is to knock off their elderly landlady - a job that proves rather more hazardous than any of them had bargained for.

The all-star cast, packed full of comedy greats of stage and screen, includes Peter Capaldi as Professor Marcus, the criminal mastermind behind the robbery with a silver tongue and a very long scarf and Clive Rowe as One-Round, the dim ex-boxer who can't keep track of the plan, his cover story, or even his name.

Opening reviews from all the press were glowing in their praise for every aspect of the show including the acting, direction, adaptation, special effects and set, with The Times calling it Show Of The Year. A selection of quotes are below.

THE LADYKILLERS is currently booking at the Gielgud Theatre until 14th April 2012. Visit the website here and book tickets here.

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The Times, The Independent

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The Guardian, The Telegraph, Evening Standard, Daily Mail

The Times Libby Purves
"the show deserves long West End glory"
"Clive Rowe, lovely in his massive dim dignity"

The Independent Paul Taylor
"Peter Capaldi is brilliant as the certifiably deluded Prof"
"The evening abounds in terrific running gags, both visual and verbal"
"This is comic bliss"

The Guardian Michael Billington
"it is an exuberantly inventive evening, one existing in its own right at a tangent to the original"
"the play garners so many laughs and is so vibrantly acted"

The Telegraph Charles Spencer
"The show is packed with cracking comic performances"
"The huge Clive Rowe is blissfully funny as the deeply dim and unexpectedly fastidious ex-boxer One-Round"