The Faulty Towers Dining ExperiencePresented by: Interactive Theatre Australia
Cafe des Amis, Covent Garden
31/10/2009 - 01/11/2009
*A lively and entertaining trip into the world of Fawlty Towers.
In the downstairs bar of Café des Amis in Covent Garden, a large party of diners is finishing their drinks and awaiting their seating arrangements. Suddenly, through the doors and to a round of laughter, bursts Manuel, a Spanish waiter with a big heart and a small grasp on the English language. He hands out single peanuts from a silver tray, pokes his head into the ladies’ restroom, and scurries around frantically. Following behind him and desperately trying to keep him under control are his employers, husband and wife team Basil and Sybil. When the seating plan has finally been located, the trio begins ushering their guests to their tables. This, of course, generates further confusion, as Basil directs patrons to the wrong places and Manuel unsuspectingly removes their chairs before they can sit down. However, the mayhem is met with further hysterics, signaling that this is no ordinary dining experience. This is the Faulty Towers dining experience.
Based on Fawlty Towers, the 1975 British sitcom by John Cleese of Monty Python fame, the Faulty Towers Dining Experience offers patrons a chance to step into the original series and participate in some of its better-known moments. Basil is as brow beaten by Sybil as ever, and Manuel causes an array of inadvertent, language-barriered chaos. Sybil’s alternating shrill cries and braying laughter permeate the room. Basil is appropriately snobbish and classist, abusive towards Manuel, and petrified of his wife. Moreover, Manuel is endearing and humorous, particularly during his frequent misunderstandings and innocent blunders. By the end of the evening, the chef’s false teeth will have turned up in one lucky diner’s soup, Manuel’s pet rat will have made an appearance, someone will have danced on the tables, and a fire extinguisher will have been dutifully employed. Undoubtedly, your laughter will have also brought you, gasping, to tears. This is predictable, slapstick, sketch comedy in the same vein as the television program, and it is utterly entertaining.
The Faulty Towers Dining Experience is performed by Interactive Theatre, an Australian theatre company based in Brisbane. The production is currently on tour and spent only two brief nights in London. With any luck, they will return for a longer run, as the cast and concept are terrific. Andy Foreman as Manuel, Michael Davoren as Basil, and Alison Pollard- Mansergh as Sybil are each superb impersonators. They do the utmost credit to their original subjects in the scripted moments, and they effortlessly play off each other during improvisation. In particular, Andy Foreman as Manuel is delightful. He crawls under the tables, tosses bread rolls, and escorts guests to the restrooms by hand, never flinching or breaking character for a moment. Indeed, the energy and commitment of the entire cast is infectious.
At £50 per person, this is perhaps a too expensive ticket. However, the price does include two solid hours of entertainment and a three-course meal. The logistics of performing in a restaurant dining room instead of in a theatre also mean that occasionally, some members of the audience miss bits of the action and the pace understandably slows. But this is inevitable, and the cast do their best to include everyone in the more pertinent jokes. Finally, as this is a dining experience, it is important to note that while the entertainment is excellent, the food is far from perfect. However, if you escape without thumbs or false teeth in your soup, consider yourself lucky. After all, you aren’t really there for the food, anyway. 4 Stars.
Playing October 31st and November 1st at Cafe de Amis in Covent Garden. Review written by Megan Hunter for Fringe Review: http://www.fringereview.co.uk.
