By Alan Cleaver

Last updated 13:33, Wednesday, 30 July 2008

TWO sweet-looking old ladies, a murderous nephew who has the face of Boris Karloff, a hero who has just got engaged only to find out insanity runs in his family (“in fact it practically gallops”) and dead bodies everywhere – it’s the perfect recipe for a hilarious night out at the theatre.

And that’s exactly what Keswick’s Theatre-by-the-Lake serve up with Arsenic and Old Lace. The script may be bordering on 70 years old but it still crackles. And the original plot has lost little of its genius.

At the centre are the two old ladies (Pamela Buchner and Amy Humphreys) who play the roles to perfection and there’s a host of wonderful other characters who revolve around their mad world. Andrew Pollard plays Jonathan, the escaped lifer who has been given a facelift by Dr Herman Einstein (David Ericsson) – only to discover he now has the face of horror actor Boris Karloff.

Patrick Bridgman plays completely mad Teddy ‘Roosevelt’, avoiding the trap of going too over-the-top, while Matthew Vaughan plays the sane Mortimer Brewster who shares the audience’s bewilderment and what unfolds in this house of secrets. Like the classic black and white movie with Cary Grant, this stage version struggles at time with a dated script and there were a few occasions when the play lost its momentum. And there were probably a few other uncles in the audience aside from me having to explain to their niece who Boris Karloff was.

But the script was a lot funnier than I remembered it and the cast delivered the lines with aplomb.

Some terrific acting and sizzling one-liners had the tears of laughter rolling down my face for much of the second act.

Director Stefan Escreet has got the best out of this vintage classic and I urge you to add it to your ‘must-see’ list for the summer.

Arsenic and Old Lace runs until November 8 at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick.

• Telephone 017687 74411 for further details.

See also The Diary.