Spamalot

Spamalot … a comedy musical staged and performed by Maghull Musical Theatre Company at Southport Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, Southport on Friday, 14th June 2024.

Spamalot … (the title being a portmanteau of ‘Spam’ (tin of processed meat and ham) and ‘Camelot’ (the fictional castle city of King Arthur)).  This stage musical is lovingly ‘ripped off’ from the 1975 motion picture ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’.  From a book by Eric Idle and a score by Idle and John Du Prez, this highly irreverent parody is of the legendary tale of King Arthur and his quest to find the ‘Holy Grail’. The musical diverts ‘slightly’ away from the more traditional version of the tale and features ‘shenanigans’ involving ‘flatulent Frenchmen, beautiful dancing girls, ‘killer rabbits’ and much more - intrigued? You should be!  I grew up loving Monty Python and the ridiculously crazy humour, I’ve seen the film and the TV series, but the stage musical has eluded me until now! Truth, I almost contacted Maghull to see if I could join them on this ‘quest’… but that never happened, so I was now desperately wanting to see what I’d missed, especially after seeing the highly amusing media clips that came out pre show on social media … was I, were we to be disappointed … I think not!

Production Team … wow, what a job the production team made of this award-winning musical!  Tasked with leading us through this ‘QUEST’ we had Alexandra Ashall (Director) … this was Alexandra’s Directional Debut (I can think of far easier musicals to ‘cut your teeth on’ Alexandra!).  We had Chris Rimmer (Musical Director) and Sarah Fletcher and Kayleigh Ginley (Choreographer and Assistant respectively). The team provided us with a ‘rib tickler’ of a musical… which had ‘attention to detail’, high on its priority list.  It became very obvious, very early, that Alexandra had a good idea what she wanted from this hilariously funny musical and how to achieve it! Chris Rimmer and his amazing musicians pulled every ounce of fun out of these hilariously funny songs, whilst supporting the singers really well. I did think at times, the music was a little loud, but that’s me, but that never detracted from the overall enjoyment, performance and support for all the singers and the show itself.  Choreo … OMG … Sarah/Kayleigh take a bow!  There was so much clever, creative choreography in this production that not only played to the strength of those involved, but challenged them as well!  The choreo told stories through movement, dance and routine … it was honestly amazing to watch!  What was also impressive … was that the choreo wasn’t just left to a select few … it was aimed and set at levels that everyone involved in that particular routine could master and excel in, I don’t think anyone was left in the wings…  be proud ladies… a masterclass!  Congrats … an amazing production that you should all be proud of!  

The Cast … not a weak link in sight (full stop/capital letter)! We had character, after character, after character … all of whom just rose to the challenge helping to create this impressive comedy musical!  I therefore really haven’t a clue where to start… so, if I may, I’ll start by listing this impressive cast of thirty-seven as shown in the programme … and then I’ll share with you my ‘favourite character’ …. John Coates led imperiously from the front as ‘King Arthur’, Alex McKillop played ‘Patsy’, Ed Casson did a wonderful job as ‘Sir Robin’, Lee Ashall gave us a great ‘Sir Lancelot/French Taunter’; Matt Christiansen nailed ‘Sir Dennis Galahad’ Matthew Swinnerton ‘knocked’ ‘Sir Bedevere/Concorde out the park; Phoebe Hill was so impressive as ‘The Lady of the Lake’, superb performance;  OMG … Tom Avann was side-splitting funny as ‘Not Dead Fred / Herbert’; Liam Rabbette was hilarious as ‘Prince Herbert’s father’ and ‘The Black Knight’;  Nat Olsen did great as ‘Dennis Galahad’s Mother’; Matt Casson did a wonderful job with ‘Head Ni Knight/Tim the Enchanter’; Eric Fletcher, ‘just makes me laugh’, gave us a great ‘Brother Maynard’; Kay Davies did an amazing job keeping us abreast of what was happening, which wasn’t easy as the ‘Historian/Narrator and Head Minstrel;  John King was a hilarious ‘Guard/Puppeteer’; Dan McWaters did great as the ‘Mayor’; Dan Rankin did a good job as ‘Bors’…  

Ensemble Characters:
‘Laker Girls’: Ellie Simons, Suzanne Morris, Caroline Lester-Hall, Heather Gomersall, Emily Allen & Siobhan King
‘Minstrels’: Kaley Casson, Yasmin Cranny, Dan McWaters and Kay Davies
‘NI Knights’: Leanne Cooney, John Ball, Olivia Burns & James Fleetwood
‘Chorus Ladies’: Ingrid Cleverly, Gaynor Hale, Laura Makin, Issy Housley & Elle Fletcher
‘Chorus Knights’: Bob Cleverly, Ian Culshaw, Chris Taylor & Colin Dryden
As promised MY favourite character… AND LET ME ASSURE YOU this wasn’t an easy choice, because there were so many ‘stand out’ characters created …. BUT I’ve followed the Mayor of Sefton, who after the show ‘singled out’ Alex McKillop as her favourite character and if I’m honest, I was in total agreement!  Alex created this totally unique character… Python Esq! Confident, assured, hilariously funny, those ‘clippy cloppy’ coconut shells were never out of time, whether galloping, cantering or just following King Arthur.  Stage presence, mannerisms, facial expressions, Alex just lived this character and you could just tell he was having the time of his life (as most on stage that night were). Can’t forget the ‘tap dancing’, which was impressive … and then the song ‘I’M ALL ALONE’ sung with King Arthur… honestly it was perfection… I laughed, laughed and laughed some more… be ever so proud Alex this was a real ‘stand out’ performance from a ‘stand out’ show!   

Staging/Set/Tech … from what I’m told, assembling the set wasn’t as straight forward as thought, but you would never have guessed!  The set, which filled the entire stage, afforded the Production Team the space, the levels, the access and redress points to allow this musical to flow without interruption and affording the cast the space and levels to do ‘their thing’ extremely well.  In charge of all things back stage was Stage Manager Ed McKillop and his crew, Radley Haynes, Chris Morris, Les Longley and Graham Hunt … every credit guys for sorting out the staging issues and creating a set that just worked and looked splendid!  Lighting Design was under the watchful eye of Andrea Shacksmyth-Claire with Max Jenkinson and Corinna Davies on ‘Follow Spots’… great job folks.  Sound was in the capable hands of Matt Hughes. We did have a major issue with a personal mike that went rogue in Act 2 … leaving our ‘The Lady of the Lake’ … Phoebe Hill, alone, in front and centre of the house cloth to sing solo … ‘Whatever Happened to my Part’.  Phoebe dealt with it like a ‘pro’ and if truth be known, I had a group of four people sat in front of me and I would suggest many others in the auditorium that night, thinking that this was just another comedy moment, especially with a wandering ‘follow spot’ helping to add to the illusion!  But things like this happen in live theatre, when it does, the ’big job’ is to deal with it… and Phoebe did just that making it look so much like part of the production, even with a member of the stage crew trying to thrust a hand-held mike through the curtains to her … impressive Phoebe, be ever so proud! 

Orchestra… led by the versatile Chris Rimmer (Musical Director) and included Corey Gerrard (Keys1), Paul Nicholls (Keys2), Paul Sanderson (Guitar), Adam Dutch (Bass), Mike McKay (Drums), Cliff Ray (Trumpet1), Tony Armisted (Trumpet2), JP Warder (Trombone), Emma Lenahan (French Horn), Jess Holding (Violin), Niamh Boland (Reed1), and Sarah Dutch (Reed2)

Costumes … there were some fabulous costumes on display... all apt and of the period all enhancing this production ever so much… hired from The Costume Store.  Props were first class, used well provided by the Cast

“Remembering Our Members” … Maghull recognised in their programme a number of members who have sadly ‘passed’ in recent times… they included Alan Davies, Chris McCabe, who took on many lead roles for MMTC; Ann Povlo, and Mary Aldred who passed very recently … from me and all at NODA RIP … you will be missed!

Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I, we really did enjoy the show... thanks to Betty Hall and Gill Culshaw for looking after us throughout the evening and the company for allowing me to speak with the cast after the show.
Already looking forward to seeing you all again in those Austrian hills for the Sound of Music.

Stay safe, keep well…
‘Stronger Together’

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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