Spamalot

Anyone of a certain age may remember Monty Python’s Flying Circus which was
on out TV screens from 1969 to 1974 plus the spin off films such as Monty
Python and The Holy Grail, which Spamalot, the musical was based on.
As with the film, this show is based on King Arthur’s quest to find The Holy
Grail and in the lead role we had Chris Hall, who was perfect, Chris, not only has
a brilliant singing voice, but his comedic skills are second to none and they are
both put to good use in this production. As Arthur moves around searching for
the Holy Grail he is accompanied by his man servant, Patsy, who not only
provides assistance for Arthur, he also provides the sound effects for his
horse, which we never see. Patsy was in the capable hands of Gareth Jones, who
managed to grasp the reigns of the character with both hands.
As Arthur moves on he comes across The Lady of The Lake, played beautifully
by Melanie Stephens who joined forces with Chris Hall to sing The Song That
Goes Like This, an extremely funny song which calls for not only a good voice but
a good deal of comedy from the performers, here we had no worries on either
score.
Part of his quest as Arthur travels on is to find Knights to sit at his Round
Table, as he moves on he meets Robin, Patrick Stephen, Lancelot, David Rogers,
Galahad, Cameron Sherry and Bedevere played by Sarah Gates, all of whom only
added to the mayhem and enjoyment of the entire production.
One important character of this piece is Historian, who also doubled up as
Concorde, Cerys Jones was superb and had an outstanding speaking voice which
was perfect for her role.
As the story moves on, we hear many of the iconic songs which we associate
with Spamalot, songs such as I’m Not Dead Yet, Whatever Happened to my Part

and of course Always Look on The Bright Side of Life delivered perfectly by
Patsy (Gareth Jones).
This show is packed full of flamboyant characters such as The Knight of Ni,
Louise Thatcher, and the rest of the clan, however one character which really
stood out was that of Herbert played effortlessly by Chris Gates who managed
to get the entire audience roaring with laughter with his antics.
This entire show rocked with laughter from start to finish and although I
question anyone to relate what it was all about, my fellow audience members
loved every single second of it.
Congratulations go to each and every person involved in this piece, well done.

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