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Post by ceebee on Apr 29, 2024 20:42:51 GMT
I booked to see it as there seems to be some dynamic pricing going on for single seats. I have low expectations but I least I know it'll be funny. Good heads up - I just bought a £20 dress circle seat for next week as I'm curious.
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Post by anthony40 on Apr 30, 2024 11:51:49 GMT
John Cleese on The One Show tonight apparently I assume to promote this.
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Post by moorhunhe on Apr 30, 2024 12:15:09 GMT
We have tickets for this, sadly not with a nice discount/good seat like I've seen mentioned here, haha, but very excited to see this and hoping for a really good laugh ^^
Looking at the little clip on youtube, it looks like the actor will be doing a good job at being Basil.
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Post by basi1faw1ty on Apr 30, 2024 13:33:12 GMT
John Cleese on The One Show tonight apparently I assume to promote this. He's doing the promo rounds today. Heard him on Radio X this morning. And yes, saw that clip of Adam with Cleese. Very impressed with his Basil so far.
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Post by Distant Dreamer... on May 2, 2024 22:00:48 GMT
An article in the Evening Standard this evening is an interview with Cleese. He says the play is three of the TV shows merged: The Hotel Inspector, The Germans and Communication Problems.
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Post by Jan on May 3, 2024 6:17:30 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2024 14:05:11 GMT
They have done similar reworkings of classic sitcoms on stage many years after the originals were broadcast. Dad's Army and Porridge spring to mind but these were done more as regional tours. I do wonder if Fawlty Towers will work better as a regional tour longer term, it would be a show that would possibly appeal to the older regional theatre goer than the very varied West End theatre attendee.
Fawlty Towers was a very British show so do the overseas visitors who often go to West End shows know it as well as British residents.
Fawlty Towers I always rank as the funniest sitcom ever IMO and is good to see CJ Ranger doing so well as a director. I can recall her as a performer and dance captain/resident choreographer in a fair number of shows.
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Post by shownut on May 5, 2024 15:34:53 GMT
They have done similar reworkings of classic sitcoms on stage many years after the originals were broadcast. Dad's Army and Porridge spring to mind but these were done more as regional tours. I do wonder if Fawlty Towers will work better as a regional tour longer term, it would be a show that would possibly appeal to the older regional theatre goer than the very varied West End theatre attendee. Fawlty Towers was a very British show so do the overseas visitors who often go to West End shows know it as well as British residents. Fawlty Towers I always rank as the funniest sitcom ever IMO and is good to see CJ Ranger doing so well as a director. I can recall her as a performer and dance captain/resident choreographer in a fair number of shows. I worked with CJ in Starlight Express and yes, a treasure of a lady and a load of talent. Very happy to see her segue into a successful directing career.
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Post by anthony40 on May 5, 2024 15:59:35 GMT
I actually walked past the theatre this morning.
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Post by joem on May 5, 2024 16:47:39 GMT
Cleese has always said he is short of money because of his ex wives but he has also said he spends £17.000 on Beaty therapies to look young. Hence the stage adaptations coming in thick and fast. Good luck to him, his original FT is a classic. It's not working. The beauty therapies.
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Post by ceebee on May 5, 2024 17:09:25 GMT
They have done similar reworkings of classic sitcoms on stage many years after the originals were broadcast. Dad's Army and Porridge spring to mind but these were done more as regional tours. I do wonder if Fawlty Towers will work better as a regional tour longer term, it would be a show that would possibly appeal to the older regional theatre goer than the very varied West End theatre attendee. Fawlty Towers was a very British show so do the overseas visitors who often go to West End shows know it as well as British residents. Fawlty Towers I always rank as the funniest sitcom ever IMO and is good to see CJ Ranger doing so well as a director. I can recall her as a performer and dance captain/resident choreographer in a fair number of shows. I worked with CJ in Starlight Express and yes, a treasure of a lady and a load of talent. Very happy to see her segue into a successful directing career. Her sister Denise (assistant director) is also a really lovely person. She taught me dance when I was at drama school and was just about able get me moving in the right direction at the right time and pace. No mean feat. Even if she did spend half the time laughing at me.
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Post by basi1faw1ty on May 7, 2024 10:21:57 GMT
An acquaintance was at the first night to this, reports it being very good. Said all the cast did well, but noted Hemi Yeroham's Manuel and Paul Nicholas's Major stood out in particular.
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Post by Dr Tom on May 9, 2024 9:43:33 GMT
Very much enjoyed this last night and my front row £20 ticket was a bargain. The stage height is reasonable and there's plenty of leg room. The set is static, open hotel reception and dining area below, one bedroom and the Fawlty Towers sign upstairs (with tweaked spelling during interval). The upstairs is not really visible from anywhere at the front, but nothing of note happens upstairs. The main restriction is with anyone sat on the rear tables, which are blocked by the front tables, but again everything is carefully staged for minimal disruption.
The plot is highlights from several episodes weaved in and out from each other. Most of the dialogue and action comes straight from the original shows, but there are some small changes to improve the narrative, and characters appear in sections from episodes that I don't think they were in originally. Some of this is dated, the Germans are saved until the end but the show ending is not the one from that episode, and it's a few years since I've watched the TV programme so others will have a better memory. Most of the audience looked like they had watched the TV programmes during their original broadcast, and there's all the clapping, cheering, mumbling (and occasionally shouting from the back) during the appearance of the key characters, famous scenes, and on the most memorable lines.
This is a nostalgia play. It will sell well. I heard accents from all around the world in the audience (and in the very long queue to get in) and Fawlty Towers has a wide appeal. The cast are excellent and true to the originals. If you like the source material, you'll enjoy the chance to relive the TV show on the stage, but don't expect any major changes or wild plot twists. It isn't that type of show.
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Post by david on May 9, 2024 13:16:22 GMT
Great to read that early visits are positive. I’ve got this booked for my birthday next Friday. I’ve got a stalls row C seat (C5) for £25 after my spot a few weeks ago. Seems like it could be a great night at the Apollo.
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Post by catcat100 on May 9, 2024 18:57:10 GMT
Well if you said to someone that you were taking them to a Fawlty towers play, then this would be exactly what they would imagine it was going to be like.
Its a pretty good mash up of a few of the episodes, all the jokes are there, as is the physical humour and the farce like situations. So go there for some nostalgia and don't expect anything too new.
Full crowd certainly enjoyed it, as did John Cleese who was in the box next to me taking notes and belly laughing quite a lot.
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Post by Steve on May 11, 2024 22:06:07 GMT
Saw this tonight, and agree with everything above. It does nothing new, but is very funny anyway, and the material benefits from the energy of being live on stage, with all the anticipation of whether the actors can actually land the lines. Some spoilers follow. . . They do land them, and then some lol! This is not an original play, just a mashup of three TV scripts. Not even a mashup really, but done consecutively. I rewatched all 12 episodes when they were on iPlayer a couple of years ago, and from my recollection, this is just "The Hotel Inspector," "Communication Problems" and "The Germans" done in order, with a character from the second script lingering into the third. Given that this is indeed a "nostalgia play," as Dr Tom accurately observes above, the only question is whether it's as funny as the TV show, and in my opinion, it absolutely is! The key is the casting, and that is spot on. Here are the actors who I found the funniest in reverse order:- (6) As the PC Guest, who watches BBC2 documentaries about Native Americans, only eats fresh peas and has a germ phobia about touching phones, Steven Meo has a coiled Northern Reece Shearsmith style provocative finickiness about him that teased my funny bones; (5) As the Bolshy Guest who won't wear her hearing aid, Rachel Izen is just the right amount of absolutely ferocious lol; (4) As the legendary Sybil Fawlty, Anna-Jane Casey's superb combination of insular Sid James cackling and commanding scorn for Basil does total justice to the magnificent memory of Prunella Scales' portrayal. The only problem is that there's just not enough of her in this play; (3) As Manuel, Hemi Yeroham flips from sparky to doltish to uncontrollable fool enough to generate at least two belly laughs; (2) As the Major, Paul Nicholas can do no wrong. He never overeggs the pudding, which means his Major's bluntness and blankness open the door to some simply marvellous comic blurting. When armed with a weapon, he's an unpredictable laugh riot; (1) But its Adam Jackson-Smith's Basil that makes the show for me. If he can't wind himself up like an explosive comic clockwork toy again and again and again, this show will fail so badly, but he matches Cleese's own original performance (I admire Cleese for allowing someone this good to be cast in the role lol) in dripping scorn for everyone around him, and in sheer stuffed-up mounting fury, and his comic explosions are a joy to behold. "The Germans" is the best comic script because it has the most things going on at once, and the most comic dimensions (Basil is not himself, and the action and interactions that swirl around him are nonstop), which is why it comes after the interval, as a topper. During this finale the show is no holds barred funny. 4 stars from me for great nostalgic comedy perfectly realised in a live format. I'd go higher if this amazing cast did new material. PS: The show was sold out tonight, and ended at 9:30pm on the dot.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 11, 2024 22:25:40 GMT
My favourite one was where Sybil went off in a strop and Basil persuaded Polly to impersonate her in her sickbed. Una Stubbs was in it as a concerned friend. Fabulous. I still wonder what the appeal of seeing this live is, when the original and better version is available on demand.
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Post by Steve on May 11, 2024 22:30:54 GMT
My favourite one was where Sybil went off in a strop and Basil persuaded Polly to impersonate her in her sickbed. Una Stubbs was in it as a concerned friend. Fabulous. I still wonder what the appeal of seeing this live is, when the original and better version is available on demand. A lot of laughter is the fulfilment of comic tension. Once you've seen the TV show, you know forever exactly how it fulfils the built tension, frozen in aspic. With real people on the stage, there is the potential for variety, and even failure, so, beyond nostalgia, the joy is in whether and to what degrees the actors will fulfil your own expectations, whether they'll come crashing down or hit the comic bar so hard, you are confounded, and the whole audience just loses it in joyous mirth together.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 11, 2024 22:47:28 GMT
Hmm. Tenuous, I’d say.
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Post by Jon on May 11, 2024 23:35:47 GMT
It's a shame that Hotel Inspectors was chosen over A Touch of Class because I think the final scene with Basil shouting 'BASTARD' at Lord Melbury would be hilarious on stage.
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Post by blobble84 on May 12, 2024 8:30:15 GMT
I thought this was a lot of fun, and the Basil voice and mannerisms were perfect. But the show needs far much more pace. It’s farce and I think scenes and reactions need to be played quicker so they land better. For example, The classic scene where Basil is trying to mime Dragonfly to Polly just felt laboured. I’m sure it will bed in and improve in time, but probably not before press night next week. A solid 3* from me.
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Post by bigredapple on May 12, 2024 17:48:17 GMT
What’s the run time for this ? Is it straight through or with an interval?
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Post by Dr Tom on May 12, 2024 18:05:21 GMT
There is an interval. About 2 hours.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2024 23:34:48 GMT
It's a shame that Hotel Inspectors was chosen over A Touch of Class because I think the final scene with Basil shouting 'BASTARD' at Lord Melbury would be hilarious on stage. There were other ones which could have been done such as Gourmet Night but how the car being attacked would work on stage might have been an issue and Basil the Rat would have been another one I would have liked to have seen done.
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Post by Jan on May 13, 2024 5:46:49 GMT
It's a shame that Hotel Inspectors was chosen over A Touch of Class because I think the final scene with Basil shouting 'BASTARD' at Lord Melbury would be hilarious on stage. There were other ones which could have been done such as Gourmet Night but how the car being attacked would work on stage might have been an issue and Basil the Rat would have been another one I would have liked to have seen done. I remember watching the first run of the first series in 1975 and the second in 1979. A Touch of Class was the first ever episode screened and I thought it was by far the weakest (in relative terms) of them all. I vote for Gourmet Night as the best, it is up there with Feydeau.
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