Fawlty Towers review from Stephen Hayter (NODA) THE ANGLIAN PLAYERS Fawlty Towers DIRECTOR Ali Fox VENUE March Community Centre DATE November 15th 2014 It is something of a dichotomy that, alongside Alan Hooks own wholly original pieces, The Anglian Players seem to have cornered the market in television spin offs. Hot on the heels of Hi Di HI it was John Cleese and Connie Booth’s Fawlty Towers and The March Community Centre was as full as I have seen it for any Anglian Players production. Those of you who read these review will recall (As I do) that I was a little luke warm on Hi Di Hi. I thought the script was desperately disappointing and for long periods completely without humour. The show gave the incredibly talented Nicky Marsh a chance to wheel out a pinpoint Gladys Pugh which was worth the ticket price alone. As I took my seat for Director Ali Foxs choice of three episodes from the 12 available, I wondered if it would be impersonation or interpretation, and how funny were these scripts without the famous cast. All these questions were further intensified by the fact that I personally was never a big Fawlty Towers fan, finding most of the episodes a little self-indulgent. First thing to say was, the set was an absolute triumph. The dining area had been cleverly placed on the auditorium floor beneath the stage with reception stage right and a see through door in to office in front and to the side of that. Don’t worry if you can’t picture it, but do take it from me that it was brilliant and allowed everything to flow beautifully. The lighting and sound both courtesy of Ali Fox were perfectly appropriate as were costumes (Uncredited) and all the props. The second thing to say, and this took me completely by surprise was the choice of episodes. I would have bet 10 shillings on the “Don’t mention the war” routine being in there somewhere by Mrs Fox had cleverly side stepped it in favour of three far more obscure segments. Without the baggage of the more popular episodes I was able to enjoy these even more with the cast of the night and not of the past ! The first out was “Touch Of Class” which was just superb. The supporting cast were vast which added additional credibility, with all of them executing their duties to a ludicrously high standard. This was followed in the first half by Waldorf Salad which I was more familiar with, and it also hit the bulls eye. After the mid-session interval it was Hotel Inspectors with another collection of superb performances that just had me laughing out loud in a way I don’t remember with the originals. All three sections had me crying with laughter, and the incidental performances (Too many people to mention) were all so incredibly well delivered. Of the main Characters Chris Jarvis was in fine form as Spanish waiter Manuel with a nice performance from Jeanette Tinkler as maid / waitress Polly. As I mentioned earlier, Nicky Jarvis is an outstanding performer and she proved this once again with a superb characterisation of Sybil that was not pure impression, but certainly gave a nod to Prunella Scales specially with that laugh! She was bang on with her lines (This show was prompt free throughout) and her comic timing of the highest standard. It is slightly inevitable that penultimate paragraph honours should go to the lead, but as deeply troubled hotelier Basil Fawlty Society Chairman Alan Hooks was at the very top of his game. Not really an impression at all, in fact I liked the toned down version better than the overly manic John Cleese as Mr Hooks gave a new edge of reality to a very well-known character. His delivery was flawless and he worked tirelessly throughout to really deliver one of his best ever perfomances. I can’t tell you how impressed I was with this production, Director Ali Fox should be carried should high around March for a piece of direction that simply could not be faulted. I had gone with reduced expectations and returned home genuinely lost for words. In fact, I was in such a euphotic fluster I managed to leave the hall without my program, and had to have the cast and crew details E Mailed over ! Congratulations to everyone concerned for showing us all how it should be Done. Stephen P E Hayter (Regional Representative – Noda Eastern Region Area 4 North)
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 20:29:34 +0000
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