"Caramba's Revenge" by Riverside Drama Company.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

There are so many plays being performed of late that I've not previously heard of, never mind seen on stage. This is another one.

Four elderly ladies have been sharing their lives in Violet's rented house, pooling their pension books and sharing chores. Lottie is writing the latest Great American Detective Novel, in the style of Raymond Chandler. Doris is a bit scatty and is fond of the odd tipple and Marge, the self-appointed master-chef.

After a mugging Violet dies, but Marge, Lottie and Doris omit to tell the authorities and leave Violet's body peacefully in the cemetery. However, Violet's granddaughter, Ronnie, arrives from Australia in search of her relative and soon discovers what has happened and joins the co-operative, and then Rose is introduced to the mix, along with Detective Inspector Grubb who is investigating a murder connected to the property........

Who is Caramba and what are they seeking revenge for? All is made clearer as the play progresses.

Lizzie Norris plays Lottie, splitting her time between writing and quoting from her latest novel and chairing the co-operative committee meetings. She is the hand on the rudder of how the co-operative is steered.

Marge is played by Liz Turner, whose role is to rule the co-operative's culinary quarter. Is that "apple pie Granny" façade just that or has she a darker underbelly?

Diana Edwards plays Doris. The easiest way to get any secret from Doris is to take her off to the local pub as a couple of rum and blackcurrants will loosen her tongue, making her a danger within the co-operative, especially when Ronnie arrives.

Ronnie is played by Jane Harris. and I must commend the Australian accent which never wavered throughout the play. Ronnie fits in well with these older women's plans, but can she sway Grubb away from his investigations, and why would she want to as she's only been in the country a few days?

Rose is played by Celia Billau, and the last one invited into the co-operative. Rose, as a character, reminds me slightly of Nanna from The Catherine Tate Show, but without the swearing and with the Cockney accent.

John Sully plays Detective Inspector Grubb who is assigned to investigate a murder that leads back to the women's home, but when he starts to get a little close to solving the murder mystery, Ronnie decides to get a little closer to him, but why?

Rob Osmond plays George. Can he be convinced to join the co-operative movement? He'd be the only male, but who does the inviting and what is their motive?

Directed by Jenni Wright, it's a real credit to Jenni's Directorial skills that this show moved so fast, and so smoothly. I can also imagine that Jenni, as well as the rest of the cast, had an absolute ball putting on this show, and that reflected in the audience reactions.

Sound and Lighting is by Dave Martin, and this is a fine example, on both accounts, of simplicity being the better option. No mic packs for the actors as their projection was great, and I loved the music used when the scenes were being changed, continuing the humour from the play.

The lighting was simple with fades between the scenes and a closing sea of red light, and we all know what that symbolises at the close of a play, now don't we?

Set Design is by Jenni Wright and Bob Baron. The setting was in just the one room within the cottage, and what I also liked was that through the kitchen door, leading to the back of the stage, you could actually see the kitchen through there. The kitchen led into the outdoor garden, which you could also see through the living room window. This in itself gave an additional space for some of the actors to enter and leave the main set and to earwig on certain droplets of information.

A lovely gentle, albeit dark comedy, not unlike "The Lady Killers" and has that feel of film noir about it. There are a few surprises that arise throughout the play, all in favour of keeping the collective going, and after seeing this play, I don't think I'll be able to fully trust a pensioner again! It's great fun and the time simply flew by.

"Caramba's Revenge" will be at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 18 November. Go on, treat yourself.