Fawlty Towers: The Play – a 'hugely entertaining blast of unadorned nostalgia'
John Cleese scripted the adaptation, weaving together three favourite episodes from the classic comedy
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Does the West End really need a stage adaptation of "Fawlty Towers", the "greatest British sitcom ever made"? I entered the theatre feeling pretty sceptical, said Fiona Mountford in The i Paper. But I "emerged two hours later, giddily and delightfully weak from laughing and reminded for the umpteenth time of the sheer folly of making pre-emptive judgements about shows".
John Cleese himself scripted this adaptation, which weaves together three favourite episodes of the comedy he co-wrote with Connie Booth: The Hotel Inspectors, The Germans and Communication Problems. Thanks to slick writing, hilarious performances and "super-smooth" direction from Caroline Jay Ranger, it recreates the original TV show's "magic" and leaves the audience "wanting more, much more".
With its "slapstick and mounting chaos", "Fawlty Towers" had its roots in theatrical farce, said Brian Logan in The Guardian, and it feels fully at home on stage. Admittedly, it doesn't quite add up to a coherent stand-alone play, but such are the joys of the performances, that scarcely matters. Adam Jackson-Smith's Basil is as "astonishing an act of mimicry-cum-resurrection" as you'll ever see.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He's "almost entirely Cleese-like in his voice, long-levered body language, elastic pratfalls and sense of urgency", said Dominic Maxwell in The Sunday Times. Yet this Basil never feels like mere "second-hand goods". As the mega-coiffed Sybil, Anna-Jane Casey "gives glances that can wither a grown man through brick walls". And Victoria Fox and Hemi Yeroham are terrific as Polly and Manuel respectively.
I laughed plenty, said Nick Curtis in the Evening Standard, yet found the experience "oddly soulless". It is so loyal to the source material, it felt to me almost "an exercise in zombie nostalgia". But that is surely the whole point, said Clive Davis in The Times. As a fan who has seen every episode of "Fawlty Towers" a dozen times, I enjoyed this cleverly adapted show as a "hugely entertaining blast of unadorned nostalgia". In the programme notes, Cleese hints that a sequel to it could be on the cards. If so, "I'd like a Waldorf salad, please."
Apollo Theatre, London W1 (0330-333 4809). Until 28 September
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The 8 best TV shows of the 1960sThe standout shows of this decade take viewers from outer space to the Wild West
-
Microdramas are boomingUnder the radar Scroll to watch a whole movie
-
The Olympic timekeepers keeping the Games on trackUnder the Radar Swiss watchmaking giant Omega has been at the finish line of every Olympic Games for nearly 100 years
-
The 8 best TV shows of the 1960sThe standout shows of this decade take viewers from outer space to the Wild West
-
The year’s ‘it’ vegetable is a versatile, economical wonderthe week recommends How to think about thinking about cabbage
-
6 exquisite homes with vast acreageFeature Featuring an off-the-grid contemporary home in New Mexico and lakefront farmhouse in Massachusetts
-
Film reviews: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,’ and ‘Sirat’Feature An inconvenient love torments a would-be couple, a gonzo time traveler seeks to save humanity from AI, and a father’s desperate search goes deeply sideways
-
The biggest box office flops of the 21st centuryin depth Unnecessary remakes and turgid, expensive CGI-fests highlight this list of these most notorious box-office losers
-
A thrilling foodie city in northern JapanThe Week Recommends The food scene here is ‘unspoilt’ and ‘fun’
-
Tourangelle-style pork with prunes recipeThe Week Recommends This traditional, rustic dish is a French classic
-
Samurai: a ‘blockbuster’ display of Japan’s legendary warriorsThe Week Recommends British Museum show offers a ‘scintillating journey’ through ‘a world of gore, power and artistic beauty’