An all-star cast had the audience in fits of laughter and at times on the edge of their seat in this superb fast-paced thriller adapted from the best selling novel by Peter James.

Les Dennis was at times slightly hammy yet entertaining in his portrayal of hen-pecked husband Victor Smiley, whose rows with wife Joan (excellently played by Claire Goose) provided much of the laughter in the packed theatre.

Constantly bickering, the pair have not only fallen out of love but are plotting their escape out of their unhappy marriage by committing murder.

Their addiction to cop shows and detective dramas help them to plan their crimes and also provoke more arguing. They cannot even agree on who played the best Sherlock - for Victor it is Basil Rathbone, for Joan it is Benedict Cumberbatch for his posterior.

“You can’t judge a Sherlock Holmes on his bottom,” says a weary Victor.

IT manager Victor talks about his evil plans with his love interest, prostitute Kamila Walcak, as he plots to run off with his wife’s life insurance and set up home with the call girl.

Meanwhile Joan begins an affair with taxi driver Don Kirk, superbly played by Gray O’Brien, and believes the only way out is to dispose of her husband in a grisly way.

The script is packed with superb one-liners and there are moments of hilarity when Joan and Don attempt to wrap up Victor’s body using value bin bags.

The best performance of the night came from Simona Armstrong, who was utterly convincing as Kamila as she manipulates a young police officer to help plan the perfect murder.

Runs until March 1.