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FAWLTY TOWERS – THE PLAY

★★★★★

Apollo Theatre

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FAWLTY TOWERS – THE PLAY at the Apollo Theatre

★★★★★

“Adam Jackson-Smith steps into Basil, embodying the neurotic hotelier with pin-point accuracy”

The stage is set with the familiar interior of the eponymous Fawlty Towers with the reception, restaurant and a small guest room raised upstage above the lobby (Liz Ascroft). Evoking the sense of being a television set, big Fresnel lights dotted around the set burnish the scene. We meet Sybil Fawlty (Anna-Jane Casey) cackling through the phone and spouting orders. Basil Fawlty (Adam Jackson-Smith) enters to expectant applause as he demonstrates the couple’s entirely dysfunctional marriage dynamic, his clear dislike for every aspect of his life burning through.

The irritatingly reasonable Mr Hutchinson (Steven Meo) rattles off his requests to the annoyed Basil who summons the loveable and earnestly confused Manuel (Hemi Yeroham). Endlessly saving Basil in his lies, Polly Sherman (Victoria Fox) tries to troubleshoot the various conundrums presented to her by the eccentric guests and highly-stung management. Throughout, poor Major (Paul Nicholas) struggles to “remember the remembrance service” as he is unscrupulously ripped off and sidelined. Fawlty Towers is in full swing, complete with mania and comeuppance.

 

 

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Fawlty Towers – The Play, is a faithful recreation of the award winning television show, taking its best bits and executing some of the finest routines in comedy. It is an adaptation of three episodes – so expect to see hotel inspectors, head injuries, moose heads and fire drills. Watching it as an audience member and hearing the laughter erupt around the Apollo Theatre instead of a studio audience recording in the living room is an experience in itself. Basil announcing in Act One that the ‘Germans will be arriving later’ incited a knowing laugh and teased Act Two’s pay-off without being overly referential.

Anyone not a fan of farce and slapstick would likely struggle to enjoy this play, as could be said of the television show, but Fawlty Towers lives and breathes perfection of this genre. Despite being written in the 70s the language of comedy is timeless and Basil’s totally unhinged behaviour coupled with endearing, infuriating and bemused guests and colleagues makes for a brilliantly tight comedy of errors. Fawlty Towers is also refreshing in its flawed and funny female characters and ridicule of Basil’s self-induced unhappiness and poor attitude. There were no jokes that caused any hindsight-induced cringe; the play is well adapted for modern audiences.

The cast have the pressure and responsibility of upholding the standards set by John Cleese, Connie Booth, Prunella Scales, and Andrew Sachs. They rise to the challenge with vitality and exactness, demonstrating the pinnacle of farce to hilarious effect in this slick high-energy performance. Adam Jackson-Smith steps into Basil, embodying the neurotic hotelier with pin-point accuracy to Cleese’s performance. We knew we were in safe hands from the very first angrily spat out “Right!” and Sybil’s vibrato giggle. Directed by Caroline Jay Ranger, the play is a beautiful homage to the television version, with actors hugging the source material closely, leaving little room for any new or unique interpretation. But when the material is the gold-standard of slapstick, why would you change it? Fawlty Towers feels at home on stage, arguably, where it always meant to be.

 


FAWLTY TOWERS – THE PLAY at the Apollo Theatre

Reviewed on 15th May 2024

by Jessica Potts

Photography by Hugo Glendinning

 


 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

MIND MANGLER | ★★★★ | March 2024
THE TIME TRAVELLER’S WIFE | ★★★ | November 2023
POTTED PANTO | ★★★★★ | December 2022
CRUISE | ★★★★★ | August 2022
MONDAY NIGHT AT THE APOLLO | ★★★½ | May 2021

FAWLTY TOWERS

FAWLTY TOWERS

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Only Fools And Horses

Only Fools and Horses
★★★★

Theatre Royal Haymarket

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Only Fools And Horses

Only Fools and Horses

Theatre Royal Haymarket

Reviewed – 20th February 2019

★★★★

 

“a pukka production that does a lovely jubbly job at maintaining the heart and soul of a classic”

 

The Trotters have come up in the world. They’re now residing in the West End. But you can’t take Peckham out of these geezers. Only Fools and Horses The Musical has been in the pipeline for many years, but now it has finally arrived, brimming with the familiar warmth and humour that made the original sitcom one of the nation’s most-loved tv shows. 

The genius behind the sitcom, John Sullivan had ruminated with the idea of turning his beloved creation into a song and dance show decades ago. He even collaborated with Chas Hodges, of Chas & Dave fame, to noodle around song ideas. Sadly, due to both men’s passing, the gauntlet was passed to the writer’s son, Jim Sullivan, who acquired the help of another tv great, Paul Whitehouse, in finishing where his father had left off.

Unquestionably a tall order to package approximately forty four hours of material into a two hour show, yet Sullivan Jnr and Whitehouse do an excellent job at piecing it all together, picking the most memorable punchlines and visual gags to incorporate. Based around the ‘Dates’ episode where Del Boy first meets his other half, Raquel, through a dating agency, as well as Rodney’s marriage to Cassandra, this stage adaptation sticks to Musical Theatre ‘boy gets girl’ conventions. Iconic scenes are given a nod to, whilst fresh material such as a fantasy sequence that flashes forward from the show’s 1980s setting, to the hipster Peckham of today, is an entertaining addition. The quality of the original writing is not diminished, as Sullivan and Whitehouse have managed to bottle its infinite lovability.

The time and care taken in the script doesn’t always replicate itself in the music, with many songs feeling like the have been idly added as padding. Writing responsibilities were fractured between eleven composers/lyricists, which makes the consistency questionable. The witty, mockney lyrics of ‘Bit of a Sort’, and ‘Where Have All The Cockneys Gone?’ are examples of where the songs really lend themselves in developing the characters, whilst ‘The Girl’, crooned by Raquel (Dianne Pilkington) is reminiscent of Nancy in Lionel Bart’s Oliver! However, the random addition of two pop songs and a couple from Chas & Dave’s cannon of hits, feels as much as a rip off as the dodgy goods out the back of Del Boy’s van.

The cast could quite easily have chosen to impersonate the original stars, yet, for the most case, the decision to embody the essence of the character instead is rightfully selected. However, Peter Baker’s uncanny vocal and physical resemblance to Roger Lloyd Pack’s Trigger is something of a treat. The three generations of the Trotter household are well performed. Tom Bennett is a loveable jack-the-lad Del Boy, channeling his cocky exuberance, and newcomer Ryan Hutton excels as downtrodden Rodney, whilst Paul Whitehouse makes a delightful cameo as grandad. A special mention should be made to Oscar Conlon-Morrey whose virtuosic ability to play many of the small ‘bit’ parts got some of the biggest laughs.

Where the show may be occasionally lacking in the musical department, it makes up for in its barrage of vintage comedy, cleverly bypassing any of the derogatory ‘humour’ of yesteryear. Overall, a pukka production that does a lovely jubbly job at maintaining the heart and soul of a classic.

 

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Johan Persson

 


Only Fools and Horses

Theatre Royal Haymarket until August 17th

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
The Rat Pack – Live From Las Vegas | ★★★½ | January 2018
Broken Wings | ★★★ | August 2018
Heathers | ★★★★ | September 2018
The Band | ★★★★ | December 2018

 

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