70th Anniversary Play Season: Arsenic and Old Lace
Part of a series of seven plays to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Pomegranate Theatre as a civic theatre.
Meet the Brewster family. They’re an odd bunch. Mortimer Brewster has a lot on his plate, dealing with his eccentric and occasionally murderous relatives, whilst keeping the local police at arm’s length.
Mortimer’s charming elderly aunts amuse themselves by serving up elderberry wine laced with arsenic to their gentlemen callers, while Mortimer’s brother is convinced he is Theodore Roosevelt. Then there’s Mortimer’s other brother who has changed himself beyond all recognition with extensive plastic surgery and has homicidal tendencies.
Mortimer is about to marry the girl next door, the daughter of the local minister… what could possibly go wrong?
Arsenic and Old Lace is a zany, madcap show shot through with black humour. It’s a timeless and classic comedy thriller that was a phenomenal hit both on Broadway and in the West End. The play went on to be adapted into a much-loved film directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant.
Approx. running time: 2 hours 30 mins (subject to change)
“Manic – one big chuckle from start to finish.” The Stage
“So funny that none of us will ever forget it.” The New York Times
After the show on Thursday, join the cast in the bar for a game in the style of Just a Minute.
