Fawlty Towers
Director: Neil Maidman
September 2010
We performed three 'episodes' of Fawlty Towers - The Hotel Inspectors, Communication Problems and The Germans. The episodes were the scripts from the television programme, focusing on the tense, rude mannerisms of Basil Fawlty, his bossy wife Sybil, chambermaid Polly, the hapless Spanish waiter Manuel and their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests.
Cast Characters
Mark Thomas Basil Fawlty
Peta Maidman Sybil Fawlty
Ian Dinham Manuel
Shelley Bethan Morgan Polly
Huw Rosser Mr Walt
Graham J. Evans Major Gowan
Yve Price Mrs Richards
Miscellaneous Cast:
Ryan Price-Stephens, Gareth Price-Stephens, Sarah Jones, Trevor Howlett, Craig Price-Stephens, Frankie Baskerville, Steve Christmas, Claire Watts, Emma Percy, Steve Dobson, Matthew Oliver, Val Rosser, Simon Divall and Gwen Livingstone.
To view more images, please click here.
Here is the review of the show, written by Helen Morgan of the South Wales Argus:
Trying
to
recreate such an iconic television programme as Fawlty Towers on
stage is a
huge task – but the ambitious cast of Blackwood
Little Theatre have never been
afraid of a
challenge.
And
they hit just the right note as they put on
three of the most famous episodes
from the
1970s’ series - The Germans, Communication Problems and The
Hotel
Inspectors.
Mark Thomas has the enormous task of emulating John Cleese as the incompetent hotelier – with a great gift for being rude to his guests - and although seemingly a little nervous on this first night, he quickly grows in confidence through the three acts and he certainly looks the part with his moustache and brown suit.
At his best when he is shouting, bawling and making faces at the clientele, Thomas is well supported by the talented Graham J. Evans as the bumbling and confused Major, and by Ian Dinham, making his first appearance with this company as the Spanish waiter Manuel.
Peta Maidman as Sybil and Shelley Bethan Morgan as Polly also rise to the occasion while Yve Price excels as the difficult and hard-of-hearing Mrs Richards.
Under the directorship of Neil Maidman, these episodes are all well-rehearsed and flow well, although there are one or two occasions in some of the more challenging scenes, when it seems a couple of the performers become a little lost and there are a few missed lines.
A clever set, created by Peter Musto, enables the action to move seamlessly from lobby to dining room, to hospital scenes– and there is great attention to detail in creating the 1970s set, down to having the old £10 notes.
All in all, this is great fun and leaves you wanting to see more – we could easily have sat through another couple of episodes!
The original
article can be found
here.