THE brilliant comedy Wicked Little Letters (15) is playing at the Courtyard Theatre in Hereford daily until Thursday May 9.

Starring Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley and Timothy Spall this tale will have you rolling in the aisles.

In 1920, during the suffragette movement in the UK, Edith Swan, a spinster and devout Christian in Littlehampton, becomes the target of hate mail - an issue of great distress to her, her controlling father Edward and gentle mother Victoria.

Having endured 19 such letters spilt with profanities, Edward seeks the assistance of the local constabulary. They suspect their neighbour, the haughty-yet-lone mother and Irish migrant Rose Gooding, as the sender.

Highlighting Rose's infamous proclivity for swearing, Edith testifies that she and Rose initially shared a friendship regardless of their differences, which abruptly ended following an episode wherein Rose beat one of Edward's guests at his birthday party.

This was followed by a visit from the local child protective services acting on a tip; believing Edith had called them, Rose ended the friendship.

Rose is arrested and - since she can't afford bail - is remanded ahead of her trial, set to take place in two-and-a-half months. She leaves her daughter Nancy in the care of Bill, her partner.

Nonetheless, police officer Gladys Moss is skeptical, noticing differences between Rose's handwriting and that of the letters. However, her observations are dismissed by her misogynistic superior Chief Constable Spedding, who forbids her from investigating.

Elsewhere, Rose meets Edith's friends Ann, Mabel and Kate for insight. Kate detests her, but Ann and Mabel are more sympathetic. Rose initially attempts to seek Gladys' help but is rebuffed; nonetheless, Ann and Mabel bail her out.