6 – 11 July
Surely it’s a sign that a comedy has worked its magic if you suddenly find yourself giggling long after the curtain has come down. I certainly found that was the case with John Cleese’s stage play version of his and Connie Booth’s classic 1970’s TV classic, currently on a UK and Ireland tour till August.
Danny Bayne has big shoes to fill as the irascible Basil Fawlty. Cleese, naturally comedic in the original role with his looming 6’5” frame rendering everyone around him Lilliputian, managed to burnish the rage of a four-year-old denied sweets with the internal desperation of a man wedded to something and someone he carried only disdain for. An unexploded bomb of a man, we can still relate to him despite his obvious flaws, as he barely contains his contempt for the challenged elder guests in an establishment every bit as crumbly as them, while he struggles to preserve his self-respect. Perhaps this is just pure schadenfreude on our part. The moustachioed Bayne pulls it off admirably and the audience were clearly enjoying reliving the verbal and physical pyrotechnics that were the hallmark of Cleese’s original delivery. Most, if not all the time, you could be fooled into thinking it was Cleese himself on stage, by turns passive aggressive, and cringingly ingratiating when cornered.
With a sparky supporting cast, Mia Austen looking and sounding perfect as the sharp-tongued Sybil and Ashleigh Harvey stepping in for tonight’s performance as Polly, providing the perfect foil for her boss’s ravings, the play exploits four of the original storylines from the original 12 episodes, building towards a final, cataclysmic scene of utter bedlam.
Hemi Yeroham reprises Andrew Sach’s iconic manifestation of Manuel to a T. The confused but well-meaning waiter gets his own ovation during the show while Basil mutters about selling him to a vivisectionist. Jemma Churchill gets some belly laughs as the impossibly deaf Mrs Richards and there is much merriment around the figure of the major (Paul Nicholas), as he becomes embroiled in Basil’s attempts to hide a secret betting spree from Sybil, and later taking matters into his own hands when a rat is spotted in the lounge.
The show is blessed with pace and fluidity by director Caroline Jay Ranger, while Liz Ascroft’s lovingly rendered set and costumes bring back the essence of the TV show’s ambience. Sybil’s hair is very en pointe!
Inevitably, the show will appeal mostly to those who harbour fond memories of the comedy within the warty side of the TV series – the appallingly toxic relationship between Basil and his wife, the cruel and unreasonable treatment of his employees and his characteristic ability to make the wrong decisions and then hide from the consequences. Whether this might sit more uncomfortably with a younger audience now could be an issue. Back in the seventies, Fawlty Towers could claim to be a metaphor for a country past its prime. Now it resides more as a legacy piece to a legendary writer and performer. But it will still make you laugh.
★★★★☆. Simon Bishop, 7 July 2026
Photography credit: Hugo Glendinning
