The Ladykillers, a co-production between Hull Truck Theatre and the New Vic Theatre, Newcastle under Lyme, is the first home-grown show of Hull Truck Theatre’s new season.

It’s a new adaptation of the classic Ealing comedy by award winning television writer Graham Linehan (Father Ted, Black Books, The IT Crowd). It is currently enjoying a successful run at the New Vic Theatre, will move on to the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough and arrives at Hull Truck Theatre on 13 May.

Hull Truck Theatre’s Artistic Director, Mark Babych, held an open call earlier this year for local theatre enthusiasts to form the Community Chorus. They play a gaggle of Mrs Wilberforce’s elderly friends in the The Ladykillers. But the old ladies are not what they seem – they wouldn’t describe themselves as old, and some of them aren’t even ladies. The group includes Stephen Unsworth, Pearl Williamson, Marion McGowan, Gary Jennison, Kathleen Rial and Denise Dalton.

Mark said: “Having new Community Chorus members in each venue brings fantastic energy to the piece. I love that members of the local community can be involved in the work, that’s what it’s all about. And we’ve completely turned the idea of the old ladies on its head – one of the members at the New Vic had a big ginger beard!”