A comedy classic will kickstart the 2020 film programme at CAST this week when Hal-an-Tow crier Jack Morrison introduces Ealing Comedy The Ladykillers.

Both the evening screenings, this Thursday and Friday, will have an introduction by Jack, who is well known in Helston, having grown up in Lowertown and participated in the Hal-an-Tow proceedings since he was at school. In 2019 he took on the key role of crier.

He was the first stage manager at the Globe Theatre and has worked across Cornwall for Kneehigh, the Eden Project and The Works, but is now perhaps best known for his role supporting artists as project manager at Cornish funding body FEAST.

Invited to choose a film for CAST’s Artist’s Choice series in Helston, Jack picked The Ladykillers, ranked by the British Film Institute as the thirteenth greatest British film of all time.

It’s a subversive and macabre slow-burn comedy in which a cast of quirky characters undertake a bank heist. The band of thieves led by Professor Marcus (Alec Guinness) pose as a string quintet to rent a room from an elderly widow, Mrs Wilberforce, who, unbeknown to them, has a habit of reporting suspicious behaviour to the police.

The robbery is a success, but the thieves, panicked by Mrs Wilberforce’s eventual discovery of their crime, go on to double-cross one another, with disastrous results.

CAST runs‘Artist’s Choice’ screening evenings throughout the year at its building Penrose Road, and each one is preceded by a CAST Café supper from 6pm, all for an inclusive price of £11.50.

A wide range of artists, writers, musicians and theatre people are invited to select a film and provide a brief introduction, describing why they love the film and what it means to them.

The ‘Artist’s Choice’ programme is very diverse – from classic comedies to art house feature films and experimental documentaries

Numbers will be limited to provide for social distancing and booking is essential. To book, email contact@castcafe.uk or call 01326 569267 during CAST Café opening hours.