Corpse! Bolton Little Theatre, Runs until October 26

THE hilarious comedy thriller Corpse! is a gem of a play about struggling actor Evelyn Farrant, who plots to murder his suave, sophisticated twin brother Rupert with the help of a bumbling Irish Major.

Set in 1936 in London the play is split between Evelyn's grotty basement flat in Soho and Rupert's posh apartment in Regent's Park.

The plot is so full of twists, turns and gunshots I really did not know what was going to happen next and I was gripped right until the surprising and extremely funny final scene.

Dave Pollard did a fantastic job playing both the somewhat deranged Evelyn and the aristocratic Rupert. His comic timing was spot on and he smoothly stepped into each character.

Harold Smith gave a great performance and provided a lot of the laughs as Major Ambrose Powell - the hired assassin with a shady past and sharp shooting skills. Jean Smith who played Evelyn's wacky landlady Mrs McGee also did a great job.

The cast of just four were all word perfect and at times it was hard to believe that this was an amateur production because it was so professionally performed and staged.

By Ruth Jolley

His performance was also very cleverly directed as there were some scenes when one brother needed to be on stage within seconds of the other one going off, often coming on from an entrance on the opposite end of the stage. This was carried off flawlessly and I could not tell how it had been done.

The stage was split into Evelyn's flat and Rupert's apartment and I must say the set was extremely effective. It firmly set the scene in the 1930s with Evelyn's flat creating the right atmosphere of seediness and despair and Rupert's apartment clearly showing how the brother's fortunes had differed.

Corpse! enjoyed a successful run at the Apollo Theatre, London in 1985 and it will run at Bolton Little Theatre in Hanover Street until October 26.