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

Adam Jackson-Smith as Basil and Anna-Jane Casey as Sybil at the reception desk in a scene from Fawlty Towers: The Play.
Adam Jackson-Smith's Basil is an 'astonishing act of mimicry-cum-resurrection'
(Image credit: Hugo Glendinning)

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".

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us