Arsenic & Old Lace

Arsenic & Old Lace
By Joseph Kesselring. Townsville Little Theatre. Directed by Marc Weston. 4 – 7 July, 2012.

Townsville Little Theatre’s third production of 2012 was the classic 1940’s black comedy Arsenic &    Old Lace, and they made a great job of it. Although almost 70 years old, the plot needs little explanation to most theatre-goers.

Start with two quiet, spinster sisters with strange ideas about what to do with lonely old men. Then add a handsome, good natured nephew with a beautiful naïve fiancée, a crazy nephew, his demonic brother, a doctor with a famous name and an assortment of policemen and visiting gentlemen, laugh lines that came fast and furious - and the audiences loved it.                                                                                                     

The Brewster sisters, Abby and Martha, were played superbly by two stalwarts of the Townsville    stage, Jennine Padgett and Pam Lythgo. They were almost matched in their performances by newcomer to the north, but obviously very experienced Melbourne actor Sam Loy, as the leading man, Mortimer. Kat Thomas was a delightful ingénue as Elaine and Victor Scott and Craig Harrington made a suitably macabre pair of villains, the maniacal Jonathan and plastic surgeon and torturer Dr Einstein.  The bizarre antics of the Brewster brother who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt were well handled by Bob Hinds. The numerous small roles were performed by a mixture of new and old hands.

 Director Marc Weston kept the action going at a cracking pace and the suspense was always taut. His self-designed and created set was a stand-out feature, evocative of the period and location.

Sure there were a couple of minor problems such as a stuck door, and there were times when the script teetered between comedy and farce when going over the top would have been the preferred option, but that didn’t distract from a thoroughly enjoyable show.

Ray Dickson

Image: (l to r) Jennine Padgett, Kat Thomas and Pam Lythgo

Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.