Fawlty Towers Tour Ltd
Venue Cymru, Llandudno, May 5th-9th, also Cardiff, June 23-27
(4 / 5)
It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and this is what Fawlty Towers The Play sets out to do. Take one of the most loved sitcoms from the 1970’s and reproduce it for the stage. Adapted by John Cleese, star of the original series, and using material written by him and Connie Booth, exerts from several of the original twelve episodes were recreated in a two act play.
There is no overall theme to the plot which suits the chaotic nature of the management of this hotel, Fawlty Towers or Flowery Twats as it was in the second half. Rather, different characters and situations arise for Basil Fawlty to exhibit his outlandish behaviour. The idea for the comedy arose from the fact that Cleese had to stay in a particular hotel in Torquay where the proprietor behaved extremely eccentrically and quite rudely, giving him and Booth plenty of ammunition for the two series. The show is full of awkward moments, cringeworthy one liners and slapstick humour. The lovely thing is that you know things are going to go wrong, but that sense of anticipation makes a gag worth the wait.
To mimic the original without the stars from the series entails considerable effort to adopt a highly recognisable persona. The cast do this well, with Danny Bayne as Basil standing out. His mannerisms, intonation and actions were a mirror of Cleese in his pomp even though there were times when his words could not be heard. Likewise Mia Austen as Sybil did an excellent impersonation. Hemi Yeroham captured the hapless, bumbling Manuel and the audience were often waiting for his well loved phrases. Paul Nicholas also stood out as the Major, deaf, forgetful yet wonderfully willing and jovial.
Some of the comedy looks dated now, being over 50 years old. One wonders if the most iconic, memorable sketch, The Germans, would get past the censors in our more politically correct world today, but that would risk losing some comic genius, an episode that ranks among many peoples favourite of all time in. It looked strange to see Sybil lighting a cigarette. In 1975, over half the adult population smoked, now that figure is less than 12%. An advertising ban and no product placement has played its part in that.
Should the play have created new material? It is definitely a trip down memory lane. So many of the audience loved seeing these sketches played out and warmed to the cast as they threw out some well known lines. People have bemoaned the fact that there were only ever 12 episodes created but in this instance, less is more. Too many sitcoms carry on long past their sell by date. This, when first produced was one of the finest comedies around, so the temptation to tamper with the stage show and add new material was resisted and in changing the format from TV to live action, opens it up to a new audience.
