Fawlty Towers

This was a sensible choice for debut director, Billy Buckingham. The well-loved script was well-known to the audience in fact some members of the audience were ahead of the actors] and the stories tried and tested over a number of years. This alone promised a good evening but the Director had given his actors plenty of space in which to build the familiar characters and interpret the scenes. Well rehearsed and organised there were only a couple of moments when the actors got in their own way and the audience’s attention was always directed towards the centre of the action. 

Well cast, the actors had studied their roles and the familiar mannerisms came over in a natural way. Each scene was worked well, with lines well timed and relationships built in the expected way. The major roles were successfully created in the well-loved familiar way but without rigidity which could have happened when recreating television characterisations. The many and varied supporting roles were also well created and maintained. Whilst never overpowering the principal characters they all had stories of their own which were enjoyably played out. This is the beauty of such a script as this, offering many varied and interesting characters to work upon.

The large space did create its own problems which were alleviated by the raised audience section making viewing reasonably easy. Audibility could have been a problem, but most actors spoke clearly with voices supported well on deep breathing. It is important, though, that actors do not drop their voices at the end of lines. Farce requires ends of lines to be “on the up” in order to lead strongly towards the next gag. Pace was well maintained and the gags cascaded along, falling over themselves to arrive at the required climaxes.

The settings worked well with some helpful lighting highlighting the essential areas. Costumes, hair, props and furniture were all chosen to complement the look and style of the piece and the package was excellently completed with members of the staff including Mr. Fawlty himself helping to well the audience and show people to their seats.

This was a really entertaining evening  - well presented. 

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