It never ceases to amaze and delight me how local amateur groups using basic small stages can come up with such ingenious and beautiful sets. So much hard work must have gone into making the 1959 Kensington Apartment living room of Dame Appleby ( a suitably haughty Jeanie Ellis) . It was wonderfully authentic with period attention to detail. I particularly liked the use of the back of the oil paintings for the mission plans. And the mission? Five ladies and gentleman of a certain age, sparked by the success of returning a purloined mink fur, invigorate their rather pedestrian lives by stealing more and sending the proceeds to worthy causes. Voice coach Nan Parry (Anne Tillin) provided a plethora of ever more outrageous telephone accents as part of diversion tactics for her elderly cohorts. First night nerves gave some reliance on the prompt which unfortunately hindered pace in places. That, and two very dodgy detective moustaches aside however, this is local theatre at it's enthusiastic best.

David A Putley