Fawlty Towers - Apollo

[ilovewemusicals]

Fawlty Towers stage show starring Anna-Jane Casey as Sybil announced for Apollo Theatre in London, from 4th May.
The 2-hour play incorporates three episodes from the original series – The Hotel Inspector, The Germans and Communication Problems – into one coherent storyline.
Leading the cast at the Apollo Theatre are Adam Jackson-Smith (as Basil), Anna-Jane Casey (as Sybil), Hemi Yeroham (as Manuel) and Victoria Fox (as Polly), alongside Paul Nicholas (as The Major), Rachel Izen (as Mrs Richards), Steven Meo (as Mr Hutchinson/German guest), Kate Russell-Smith (as Miss Tibbs), Nicola Sanderson (as Miss Gatsby), Greg Haiste (as Mr Thurston/German guest), Danny Bayne (as Mr Walt/Dr Finn), Neil Stuart (as Taxi Driver/Mr Firkins/Mr Kerr/Mr Sharp), and Emma Fenney (as German guest).
Completing the company are Mia Austen, John Hasler, Dale Superville, Ben Jacobson and Suzy Bloom.


www.whatsonstage.com/news/fawlty-towers-announces-west-end-cast_1568396/

[parsley1]

How depressing

Yes another recycling project of TV shows or films being forced onto the stage

Don’t people have ANY original ideas?

The staging in Australia didn’t get particularly good notices either

[alicechallice]

On the plus side, the bloke playing Basil looks pretty dishy.

And I hope the actress who's playing Mrs Richards is actually deaf, otherwise there will be HELL TO PAY.

[BurlyBeaR]

Problem is, it’s only ever going to draw unflattering comparisons with the original isn’t it? “Oh she wasn’t as good as Prunella Scales though was she?”. Even if they’re good they’ll never be AS good. A bit pointless really.

[talkingheads]

I'm intrigued by the fact that Cleese has written a new ending which ties all three episodes together.

[theatrefan62]

Feb 2, 2024 8:55:05 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

Problem is, it’s only ever going to draw unflattering comparisons with the original isn’t it? “Oh she wasn’t as good as Prunella Scales though was she?”. Even if they’re good they’ll never be AS good. A bit pointless really.

But that could be said about Only Fools and Horses, and look how that went down with its core audience.

The only difference is I've never actually met anyone who love FT lol Only Fools seems well loved across generations, FT seems to be one of those things that always makes 'best of' lists but aside that people seem less bothered by it.

[Rory]

This will definitely appeal to the 'Only Fools and Horses The Musical' crowd and it has the same director, Caroline Ranger, and the same producer, Phil McIntyre. I think it will do well. And whilst part of me thinks, yes, it's totally derivative, another part of me thinks it could be a lot of fun and we could certainly all do with a laugh right now. Anna-Jane Casey is big plus for me, she's terrific.

Interesting point made in Dominic Cavendish's review of 'Till the Stars Come Down' about the lack of entertaining writing out there at the minute. I'm not sure he had a Fawlty Towers stage show in mind, but nonetheless audiences are desperate for something that provides laughs and escapism right now in these awful times, and there's not a huge amount of it around.

[theatrenerd]

Cleese also said that his stage adaptation of Life of Brian was also due in 2024 on the West End, so I wonder if this has replaced it?

[mkb]

Feb 2, 2024 9:57:43 GMT Rory said:

... Interesting point made in Dominic Cavendish's review of 'Till the Stars Come Down' about the lack of entertaining writing out there at the minute. I'm not sure he had a Fawlty Towers stage show in mind, but nonetheless audiences are desperate for something that provides laughs and escapism right now in these awful times, and there's not a huge amount of it around.

A play that is pure entertainment with lots of laughs is really hard to pull off, and, unless there's some "message" or cleverness (e.g. venerating commedia dell'arte in One Man, Two Guvnors), people tend to be sniffy about it rather than credit the fine craftsmanship required for top comedy.

I gave both Backstairs Billy and The Unfriend five stars because they both excelled in that genre and because I laughed so much.

[alece10]

I'm going against the grain and have to say I thinknit could be quite fun and looking forward to it. I'll certainly book.
But I am probably of the generation that Will be their core audience.
But the biggest selling point for me is the chance to see AJ Casey as Sybil Fawlty. I think she will be brilliant.

[mkb]

I cannot hear the word "basil" -- usually in a restaurant or while cooking -- without hearing Prunella Scale's piercing cries, such is this classic sitcom seered into my soul.

[Marwood]

Paul Nicholas as the Major : 🥴 I’ll pass on this one, the whole thing sounds dreadful 🤦‍♂️

[mkb]

My interest is piqued. It will depend very much on pricing.

[Jon]

Is Cleese's alimony so high he has to resort to things like this?

[partytentdown]

Is this also an attempt to finally shut down that dining experience parody that he's always so cross about?

[nash16]

Well this is depressing stuff, isn’t it?

[Jan]

Feb 2, 2024 13:14:46 GMT Jon said:

Is Cleese's alimony so high he has to resort to things like this?

Plainly. See also the spin-off TV sequel to FT he’s apparently working on improbably set in the Caribbean.

The original scripts rank with Feydeau as farces (in fact they studied the Feydeau farces while writing FT). As such they shouldn’t be adapted or tinkered with in any way.

[Someone in a tree]

Feb 2, 2024 12:32:37 GMT Marwood said:

Paul Nicholas as the Major : 🥴 I’ll pass on this one, the whole thing sounds dreadful 🤦‍♂️

I was interested until i saw that bit of casting. Les Denis will play that part on the inevitable tour ...

[sph]

I mean, entertainment is entertainment I guess.

Fawlty Towers is an odd one though, isn't it? Revered as one of the greatest ever sitcoms and yet they only made 12 episodes, which would in many other cases be considered a flop. Is it shown on TV often?

[alicechallice]

Feb 2, 2024 15:54:47 GMT sph said:

I mean, entertainment is entertainment I guess.

Fawlty Towers is an odd one though, isn't it? Revered as one of the greatest ever sitcoms and yet they only made 12 episodes, which would in many other cases be considered a flop. Is it shown on TV often?

They only made 12 because that's all John & Connie wanted to do, they'd divorced between the first & second series and I think writing together was a difficult procedure for them.  

The BBC would have happily run it throughout the 80's and into the 90's if possible, no doubt.  

[Jan]

Feb 2, 2024 15:54:47 GMT sph said:

I mean, entertainment is entertainment I guess.

Fawlty Towers is an odd one though, isn't it? Revered as one of the greatest ever sitcoms and yet they only made 12 episodes, which would in many other cases be considered a flop. Is it shown on TV often?

The Office only had 14 episodes - also not a flop. Phoenix Nights had 12. The Day Today had 6. In UK TV the number of episodes doesn’t always correlate with success or quality.

[alece10]

Similar with Dinner Ladies, only 16 episodes

[Jan]

Feb 2, 2024 16:31:27 GMT alece10 said:

Similar with Dinner Ladies, only 16 episodes

Yes. I think you have to look at who “cancelled” the series, in none of those cases was it the commissioning TV company.

[theatrefan62]

Miranda 20 episodes

Mr Bean 15 episodes

A lot of the classics actually only had short runs

[mrnutz]

Feb 2, 2024 16:58:09 GMT theatrefan62 said:

Miranda 20 episodes

Mr Bean 15 episodes

A lot of the classics actually only had short runs

That's the first time I've heard 'Miranda' described as a classic 😂