The Stevenage Lytton Players make their long-awaited return to the stage next week.


The Lytton Players are welcoming back audiences with their first performance in 18 months, taking on a hilarious but deadly tale: Inspector Drake and The Black Widow by David Tristram.

It’s 1923 and in the drawing room of Lord and Lady Devonshire’s country manor, the maid finds family friend and oil tycoon John Johnson with a huge sword in his back.

It looks like a straightforward case, but with a myriad of twists and turns, it seems this case may never be solved.

Drake is left with a number of key questions to get to the culprit.

Why was Johnson badly disguised as his own wife?

Why had he eaten a tortoise?

Why do all the women in the house look similar?

And why are there references to modern pop culture if the play is set in 1923?

However, with the passionate assistance of Sergeant Plod, Drake may just keep his perfect detective record intact.

Set in the 1920s, director Allie Neal is determined to bring much-needed laughs to our current decade.

“I think after the last 18 months, we could all use some comedy," said Allie.

“This show is joke after joke after joke.

"You won’t leave without roaring at something, if not everything.”

Come and see this hilarious almost true story that never happened.

Performances run from Wednesday, October 13 to Saturday, October 16 at 7.45pm at The Stevenage Lytton Theatre, Vardon Road, SG1 5PZ.

There's also a 2.30pm matinée on October 16.

Tickets are £11 and £9 concession.

Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketsource.co.uk/lyttonplayers or via the box office on 01438 357 407.

Founded in 1948, The Stevenage Lytton Players are the leading amateur dramatic and musical society in Stevenage.

For more on the Lytton Players, visit http://www.lyttonplayers.co.uk/