MURDER, mystery, mayhem and mirth will be found in abundance at the Artrix later this month as All & Sundry present their production of the comedy thriller, Arsenic and Old Lace.

To publicise the event and to help raise funds for the Bromsgrove-based theatre group, they will also be found in the Market Street ASDA supermarket on Saturday, helping with bag-packing, So if you're in the store that day and get offered a bottle of arsenic on the side, don't be surprised!

Paul Vollans, chairperson of All & Sundry, points out that this is the group's fourth mainstream production, and their second appearance at the Artix. One of the aims of the All & Sundry is to involve as many people as possible in the world of theatre and, to this end, many more productions are planned - including three next year.

These will be an Old Time Variety Show; Alan Ayckbourne's Relatively Speaking, and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.

In January of 2007, they will be presenting the pantomime Cinderella.

This variety and scale of productions is designed to appeal to a wide audience and to involve as many people as possible in actually producing the shows. Thus newcomers to the group are actively sought and always welcome.

For the group to succeed, however, audiences are needed.

Problems encountered by the Artrix have been well documented in this newspaper in recent months and now All & Sundry is trying to help redress this, partly through the variety, number and quality of the shows it presents, and partly through the broadening of active participation.

They are now keen for local people to support their local group.

Arsenic and Old Lace will be directed by Raph Aldis, and as opening night approaches, there is a real buzz at rehearsals, with morale being very high and all the cast members and back-stage crew delighting in the excitement and humour of this fast-paced farce!

The set has been designed by Ian Page, a professional architect and set-designer and will be the most sophisticated set the company has yet constructed. It is certainly not what you might expect!

Performances are from October 26 to 29 at 7.30pm and tickets are £9.50 and £8.00 concessions.