Fawlty Towers

~~This was the second group of three episodes produced involving ‘A Touch of Class’, ‘The Builders’ and ‘Waldorf Salad’. Again we had another superb entertaining evening. The set was excellent giving a flavour of the TV original without being a slavishly reproduced copy, with hotel lobby and office stage right and dining room and kitchen stage centre to left. Scene changes were a little slow this time and could have been better handled; possibly too small a back stage group but not helped when some done on stage were occasionally also too slow. Jonathan Redwood was even better as Basil Fawlty, the irascible, put-upon hotelier.  Clearly loved by the audience, Jonathan’s humorous performance was always going to be compared to that of John Cleese and he was excellent. Marina Voak as Sybil bounced through proceedings with the long-suffering froideur required of the role.
Graeme Clement’s portrayal of Manuel together with Alexandra Maclean as Polly impressed with their interpretations of two more regular characters from the show; giving their characters commendable solidity.
 Peter Taylor was a delightfully dotty Major with Caroline Balcom and Elaine Rogers as Miss Gatsby and Miss Tibbs completing the line-up of hotel regulars, bringing a breezy humour to the stage. Other smaller roles were played with confidence by the rest of the cast and it was great to see the teamwork evident in making the show run smoothly. Each of the three episodes gave the audience a great deal of humour with only ‘The Builders’ showing a little disappointment as it never seemed to take off. Any concerns about the nature of the transition from screen to stage, the large audience clearly enjoyed the evening; rewarding the production with gales of laughter and appreciative applause.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.