Award-winning theatre group KATS will stage the classic American black comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace, at the city’s Town Hall Theatre next week.

The company, which is based in Knocknacarra will perform Joseph Kesselring’s 1939 hit play at the venue from next Wednesday, May 21, to Friday, May 23, inclusive, at 8pm nightly.

When it pemiered in 1941, on Broadway, Arsenic and Old Lace was described by The New York Times as “so funny that none of us will ever forget it”. In 1944, a film adaptation was released, directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant.

Kesselring wrote other plays but Arsenic and Old Lace became his best-known work and remains a firm favourite with theatre companies and audiences.

It centres on New York drama critic Mortimer Brewster, whose happy life is about to be turned upside down by his  insane and sometimes homicidal, family. Mortimer visits his sweet old aunties to tell them he has become engaged to the love of his life, Elaine, only to discover that they have been poisoning lonely old men for years by adding toxic concotions to homemade elderberry wine.

His brother Teddy believes he is Theodore Roosevelt, but it’s when Mortimer’s other brother, the maniacal, murderous Jonathan, appears that things really hot up.

Jonathan (who has had facial surgery and now resembles Boris Karloff) returns on the night that the aunties are planning to bury their latest victim. Mortimer must rally to help them and protect his fiancée – all while trying to retain his own sanity. Murder, mayhem and farce abound before all ends well in this black comedy. The KATS production will see the company’s award-winning actor and singer Stephen Macken make his directorial debut.

The producer is Linsey Cant. The cast includes several experienced and award-winning actors, with Hugh Mulqueen playing Mortimer, Ger Holmes as Aunt Abby, Joan Gildea as Aunt Martha and Dave Langan as Jonathan, along with Kevin Hussey, Damien O’Keefe, Ruth Randles, Colin Geraghty, Hannah O’Connor, Donal Cahill, Julian Jorge, David Booth, Chris Mepham, and Mervyn Fahy.

Tickets for Arsenic and Old Lace are €22/20 plus booking fee of €1, available online at www.tht.ie, by phone at 091- 569777 or at the box office.

Pictured: The cast at rehearsals earlier this week.