ERIC Chappell’s comedy thriller Theft is the next play on stage at Sherborne’s Studio Theatre. Amateur Players will be directed by Jessica Colson for this hilarious game of cat and mouse, from Monday 3rd to Saturday 8th June.

In it, five very different people play a complicated game, and it’s up to you to find out who did what and to whom.

When John and Barbara Miles return from a celebratory dinner with their friends Jenny and Trevor Farrington, they discover that their house had been burgled – but the perpetrator, a career criminal named Spriggs, is still in the house. The enterprising Spriggs initially convinces everyone that he is the local policeman sent to investigate the crime.

But when he is unmasked as the thief, he reveals that he knows a number of uncomfortable truths about the four friends, and artfully manipulates each of them, exposing their guilty secrets, childhood rivalries and character flaws. And before you know where you are, two seemingly happy marriages and a lifelong friendship are in tatters.

Spriggs is a shrewd observer, and his insights provide the audience with a witty philosophical take on marriage, money, morality and crime. Eric Chappell0, best known for TV sitcom hits like Rising Damp and Duty Free, has filled Theft with his trademark keen and witty dialogue.

In Sherborne, the performances are nightly at 7.30, with a 2.30 Saturday matinee.