Fawlty Towers at Apollo Theatre

An excellent revival of John Cleese’s masterpiece, Fawlty Towers is a hilarious nostalgia trip that succeeds in entertaining its audience with ease throughout. There is little here that’s new, but it’s performed with such energy and enthusiasm for the original that it hardly matters. It guarantees a splendid evening of comedy for all audiences – certainly those who can stomach the humour.

The play is, essentially, a fusion of three episodes with some references to others; the plots overlap and plenty of fan-favourite scenes are included. The adaptation is Cleese’s own, and it succeeds in imitating the original beautifully. It does lack a coherent narrative – stuff simply happens with no central narrative or character development. This is perhaps understandable: part of the point of Fawlty Towers is showcasing the miserable, vicious character of Basil Fawlty who is incapable of comprehending the depths of his faults. But this does mean that the play ends like many of the episodes do – on a punchline with plenty of laughter but little learnt.

Notwithstanding, the show is spot on, especially the casting. Adam Jackson-Smith’s Basil is stellar. He gets the mannerisms and speech patterns just right; it’s almost uncanny how closely he imitates the original. Cleese himself is only that much more unhinged when he’s overcome by his anger. Anna-Jane Casey as Sybil is terrifyingly witty and on point, Hemi Yeroham’s Manuel handles the communication problems with brilliance and Victoria Fox’s Polly is charming and sharp.

Director Caroline Jay Ranger’s production is equally apt. The sets and costumes by Liz Ascroft match the TV show to a tee. Rory Madden’s sound design is largely occupied with playing the programme’s theme tune and the sounds of the bells ringing. It’s clearly all designed to please long-time fans of the series, more than anything else: it creates the same sort of stereotypical representation of 70s Britain that is both laughable and endearing.

Fawlty Towers is, as a play, nothing new; it doesn’t take comedy in a novel, unseen direction. But it’s a pitch-perfect resurrection of what is a brilliant show and has lost none of its glamour; indeed, the humour is refreshingly courageous even if fans have seen it before. And with excellent performances that capture the spirit of Cleese’s classic sitcom, it’s a production not to be missed.

Michael Higgs
Images: Hugo Glendinning

Fawlty Towers is at Apollo Theatre from 4^th May until 28^th September 2024. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Fawlty Towers here: