Spamalot

Spamalot- The musical comedy lovingly ripped off from the motion picture, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, or so the flier says.

Spamalot tells the tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table as they search for the Holy Grail, who on their way meet a many different weird and wonderful characters, from taunting, flatulent Frenchmen, Enchanters, Knights who say Ni, Killer Rabbits and Black Knights usually with hilarious consequences. All of the characters in the film are lovingly transposed onto the stage in all of their glory.

Once the Eric Idle voice over played, we settled down to watch the show.

Chris Isherwood played King Arthur with confidence and an air of pomposity the role required, never letting up on character. Arthur is one of those roles where he`s “seen” as the straight man- in some ways he is, but the straight man with funny lines, whose character is the only one who should break the fourth wall, until halfway through Act 2. Chris carried it off well, with his thoughtful delivery, and vocal prowess all there to see and hear.

Threatening to steal the show was Emily Prescott as the Lady of the Lake, her comic timing, facial expressions and purposeful overacting throughout “The Song that goes like this” and “Whatever Happened to My Part” were sublime- a real comedienne`s masterclass.

Samuel Wicks played the role of Patsy, the King`s loyal servant. Samuel, for me, did steal the show- his performance really was top notch, never once coming out of character all the while he was onstage, from coconut clacking to umbrella tossing, Samuel had it all. Well done.

James Shields, John Beamer, Thomas Ledsham and Peter Thompson took on the roles of Sir Robin, Sir Lancelot, Dennis/Sir Galahad and Sir Bedevere/Dennis`s mum respectively. These knights do spend a lot of time on stage, and can be a little prone to loss of focus/dropping out of character when not in the spotlight, although these moments were few and far between and didn`t detract from what were excellent performances, it would be remiss of me not to mention them

James` “You won`t succeed on Broadway” brought the house down- excellent diction throughout ensured that the audience understood all of the references, and for those not listening, the projected names punctuated and accentuated the song perfectly. John`s thoughtful and precise homicidal Sir Lancelot, unerring in pursuit of becoming a knight and rescuing fair “maidens” was first-rate, then showing us another side to the character in “His name is Lancelot”- apparently he didn`t need to hire a costume for that one. Thomas`s Dennis, the political radical`s change to sir Galahad was fab-u-lous, with both characters such polar opposites that you knew a transformation had taken place. Peter Thompson`s Bedevere explaining how the wooden rabbit worked and the look of realisation on his face were priceless.

Karl Roe played the Historian/ Prince Herbert. Prince Herbert, if done wrong can be grating and nobody cares about him, Karl`s Herbert was gyrating, and everyone loved him!

Not Dead Fred, French Taunter, Brother Maynard, Father and Black Knight (Gabriel Cooper, Glen Cooper, Alex Morris, Bob Bailey and Ray Jenkinson) all played their parts too amongst the silliness.

There are far too many characters and roles to single out on this show, but suffice to say, from Laker Girl to Minstrel, Concord to guard, everyone did their bit, and did it well.

Chorus scenes were slick, really well-choreographed and musically polished.

Staging was really well done with a fixed castle set with two levels, with central sliding doors and a projection screen for scenes where necessary. Sound and lighting were, as we`ve now come to take for granted Lancaster Grand, complimentary and on point throughout.

The Orchestra under Angela Potter`s Musical Direction were, as seems to be customary with this venue, great. Angela had obviously worked hard with the chorus and principals too, as all harmonies were in there, even with the energetic movement on-stage- Well done.

Sharon Bell (Director/Musical Staging) must have been really pleased with the end product, and rightly so. Everyone onstage had obviously enjoyed themselves, as had everybody in the audience.

I must admit, when the musician was `shot` by a cast member wielding a pair of armed fingers I thought I`d be in for a night of tutting and sighing (from myself) at opportunities missed, as somebody around us remarked, “why didn`t they use a gun?”. How wrong I was- what followed was a really, really good production of what is turning out to be one of my favourite, most-seen shows, two and a half hours flew by, and had I been in Lancaster the next night, I would have probably gone again.

For fans of Monty Python, even if they dislike musical theatre, this is a must see. For fans of musical theatre who dislike Monty Python, this show is a must see.

Thank you Morecambe Warblers, for your invite, and your hospitality.

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