I didn’t fully register it until the action began, but watching this stage version of “Fawlty Towers” is essentially like watching a tribute act to the television show.
Just as tribute bands can hit all the right notes and remember all the words, they’re still not the original — and it took me a few minutes to adjust to the fact that I was watching actors playing other actors. (Judging by opening-night reactions, others may disagree; many in the audience laughed like drains from the start.) Mia Austin as Sybil had the easiest task: one of Sybil’s famous barking laughs followed by that sharp intake of breath — like a hyena swallowing a helium balloon — and she was Sybil. Hemi Yeroham as Manuel barely needed to speak; the shuffling walk and white coat did most of the work. It was Danny Bayne as Basil who had to do the heavy lifting. He’s not John Cleese — but then, who is? It’s an almost impossible act to follow, yet he acquitted himself well.
He’s not the angular stick that Cleese was, but he nailed the physical comedy, the slapstick, the voice and the mannerisms.
Joanne Clifton as Polly sat somewhere in the middle. She was on “Strictly Come Dancing” as a pro dancer, and it hadn’t occurred to me until now that Polly often glides around the hotel like a dancer. Like Polly, Clifton can also rattle off Spanish at speed.
The play — adapted for the stage by Cleese — is essentially a collection of the best sketches from the series. After some introductory character business, we get the hotel inspector, with Greg Haiste echoing the Yorkshire tones of Bernard Cribbins from the television original.
For me, the show was more a constant chortle than laugh-out-loud until the famous scene with the dragon-like Mrs Richards (Gemma Churchill, recreating Joan Sanderson’s performance perfectly) who demanded a better view than Torquay could offer, prompting Basil to respond: “May I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the Serengeti?” That was the moment I really started laughing and reservations vanished. (“You call that a bath? It’s not big enough to drown a mouse.”)
Part one is the hotel inspector; part two is the Germans, with other morsels dropped in: Basil the Rat makes a brief appearance, as does Basil’s win on the horses — the only time he’s ever come out ahead in life — and the fire drill. The Colonel was played perfectly by understudy Neil Stewart (it’s advertised as Paul Nicholas, but I doubt Nicholas could have bettered him).
The cast excelled in the complicated choreographed scenes. Fans may remember the moment in the hotel-inspector episode when Basil is rude to a guest but claims he was actually talking to Polly; on stage this becomes a rapid-fire exchange between the two that works brilliantly. There are other such moments, and without giving too much away (though there isn’t really a plot to spoil), the farcical chaos at the end involving the Germans is another highlight — chaos to watch but very tightly co-ordinated.
An excellent night out for fans of “Fawlty Towers”, and a funny show even for those unfamiliar with the original. I still think it’s one long chortle rather than laugh-out-loud, but others may disagree.
The only disappointment for fans will be the lack of Flowery Twats. As devotees know, the hotel sign at the start of each episode rearranged its letters — the rudest being the only true one anagram (“Fatty Owls” and “Farty Towels” also featured). There is a sign in the play, and I was hoping for more letter-based mischief (admittedly tricky, as the sign is high up on the roof).
Speaking of the roof, praise is due to set designer Lis Ashcroft — the set is excellent. It remains fixed throughout but gives us interior and exterior views of the hotel and even an upstairs bedroom, the one with the famously poor view of Torquay.
“Watery Fowls” plays at the Regent Theatre in Hanley until Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees at 2.30pm today (Thursday) and on Saturday.
JMC
(Photo: Hugo Glendinning).
