Spamalot

As a fan of Monty Python and having seen this musical before, I was expecting an entertaining evening and I was not disappointed.  On a cold November evening, this was just the right show to send you home with a smile on your face.  The director did a good job in getting the balance right between telling the story and the complete absurdity of the Monty Python humour.

The set was very effective, with a castellated medieval building on each side and a screen in the centre.  This was used very cleverly to project various images including, at the beginning, Donald Trump who segued into King Arthur; not something I was expecting to see!  There were also many props and scene changes to cope with in this show, that were all carried out very professionally by an excellent back stage team.

There was a strong line up of principals with some exceptional performances, but this was very much a team effort. The show has some big company numbers in it and the chorus did a good job with the various styles that were required. It’s nice to see a show with a good mix of chorus numbers and they performed all of these with great attack and humour.

The costumes and makeup were extremely good and, given the huge amount of costume changes, must have taken a great deal of hard work and dedication to organise.  Well done to the wardrobe department!

There were times when the balance in sound was not quite right and some words were drowned out; especially during the dialogue of the Historian, who was barely audible.  However the band produced a wonderful sound and kept the pace of the show going along nicely.  All of the singing was of a very high standard and had obviously been very well rehearsed

The choreography worked very well and was just right for each number.  With a show that has so many different styles the choreographer had a difficult job on his hands to make each number original and entertaining and he did this very well.

The cast clearly had a great time performing this show and their enthusiasm was infectious.  It really was an excellent production and I left the theatre feeling thoroughly entertained.

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