Fawlty Towers - Royal & Derngate Northampton

Back at the Derngate again, and now for something completely different as John Cleese once said. Arguably the greatest ever British sitcom to ever grace our screens is taking to the stage. Some 50 years later John Cleese has adapted three episodes of the classic comedy into a stage show. After a hugely successful sold out run in the West End the production is now touring the country.

All the favourite characters are set to be there in an 18 strong cast. As a huge fan of the TV series I am very much looking forward to what lies ahead. There is also a slight sense of trepidation that it might no do justice to the wonderful 12 episodes that graced our screens for the first time back in 1975. The brainchild of John Cleese and Connie Booth. Set in a chaotic Torquay hotel 'Basil Fawlty' 'Basil' who is the main character, was always at the centre of the confusion and mayhem that ensued.His long suffering wife 'Sybil' and the Spanish Waiter 'Manuel' with his basic grasp of English. Throw in the 'Major' slightly eccentric and out of touch and  It is the array of characters that really make it something special.There is an awful lot to live up to!  

The stage is cleverly set with the exposed dining room, hallway and reception area. Above, we have one of the bedrooms and an image of the hotel in the background. Looking around the auditorium is filing up nicely and looks like it will be a full house. The strains of the original theme tune strike up and the the show is up and running.The first plot evolves around the 'Hotel Inspectors'. Basil mistaking a spoon salesman as the inspector.The situation soon escalates into high farce as you would hope. 'Danny Bayne' captures the eccentricities and mannerisms of Basil perfectly. 'Mia Austin' is the perfect foil as 'Sybil'. 

All of the actors are very impressive and true to their original characters. 'Polly' is played by the former 'Strictly Come Dancing ' performer Joanne Clifton. Probably the most well know of the cast is 'Paul Nicholas' who plays the Major. Perhaps the one member of the cast I found the least convincing. Admittedly some of his lines had been cut from when first aired. I'm not sure of the exact phrase but it is language not considered appropriate for modern times. Which I understand totally and it wouldn't be acceptable today of course. I just felt he didn't quite come over as the confused character he did on TV. Even the classic line 'Hampshire won again Fawlty' was flat. However 'Hemi Yeroham' totally nails it as the out of his depth 'Manuel'. There are some notable supporting roles too. Not least Jemma  Churchill who plays the somewhat annoying Mrs Richardson as we move into 'Communication Problems'. 

It is the final episode though 'The Germans' where everything comes to the boil. Basil has become even more manic (as if that were possible) after the Moose head falls on him. Trying desperately not to mention the war, whilst trying to organise a fire drill. Things build to a complete farce with every cast member on stage. There is also a clever reference to a Rat on the loosen, a reference to another episode. The new ending sees the Major on the loose with his Lee Enfield rifle as Sybil returns from hospital after her ingrowing toenail operation. It has been a real joy and the magic of the original Fawlty Towers has been captured. An evening that has flown by leaving lots of happy faces.