Discover what is being said about the stage adaptation of the classic BBC comedy.
The Guardian: *** “It’s all still more of a sitcom than a stage play. Cleese has woven three episodes (The Hotel Inspectors, Communication Problems and The Germans) into a 90-minute whole – fairly seamlessly, although Basil’s hospital visit in The Germans has been cut, and with it a stitch (contextualising his later mania) is dropped. But there isn’t a narrative backbone, far less character development, of the type that might sustain an actual play.”
The Daily Mail: **** “Anna-Jane Casey’s Sybil is likewise a Prunella Scales carbon copy, while Hemi Yeroham has the exact rubber-ball bounce of Andrew Sachs’s waiter from Barcelona, Manuel. Victoria Fox has the swimming head movements and mid-Atlantic accent of Connie Booth’s Polly, and Paul Nichols is as blissfully oblivious as Ballard Berkeley’s mystified Major.”
Evening Standard: *** “The scripted and visual gags are great throughout but the tumbling avalanche of misunderstandings between Basil, a deaf female guest, and the uncomprehending Manuel in the latter is a sublime piece of writing.”
The Telegraph: *** “John Cleese has welded together three vintage episodes to form one fairly seamless, indisputably funny evening – with an elegiac edge.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “The aesthetic is eye-wateringly Seventies: chintzy lime-green patterned wallpaper, Sybil’s purple skirt suit and giant-frilled blouse, Basil’s cardigan and cravat. Even the menu draws sentimental sighs. This is theatrical time travel of the most joyful variety.”
Time Out: *** “In some ways, ‘Fawlty Towers’ is a natural for the stage: each episode is essentially a drawing-room farce, which draws on exaggerated English stereotypes in the same way as, say, an Alan Ayckbourn play. Post-Brexit, the vein-popping Basil, exasperated at his own sense of powerlessness, also feels very familiar. Time has given his admission – in lines taken from the infamous episode ‘The Germans’ – that he didn’t vote for the UK’s then-recent joining of the European Community a new spikiness.”
City Am: *** “It might not be challenging theatre, but it’s a nostalgic joy, much like watching an episode of the original show.”
iNews: **** “I went in sceptical – and emerged two hours later, giddily and delightfully weak from laughing.”
The Reviews Hub: **** “The play brings Fawlty Towers to the stage in the most faithful ways possible, transplanting the farce of the series onto the stage as if you could have been there in the studio when it was filmed.”
London Theatre 1: *** “However, the difficulty with tribute acts, for that is what this is, is that the performers are often on different pages. That is the case here. As Polly, the maid-of-all-purposes at Fawlty Towers – Victoria Fox is excellent, delivering a pitch perfect impression of Connie Booth and sailing through the farcical happenings at the hotel as if in a “normal” play. Uncannily like Cleese, albeit clearly shorter, Adam Jackson-Smith is virtually the only member of the cast to make any attempt at characterisation and, as a result, he lifts his portrayal of Basil above a ‘Dead Ringers’ style impression.”
West End Best Friend: ***** “The show as a whole is enjoyable and has the right balance of nostalgia. It has a stellar cast and will delight audiences of all ages.”
The Spy in the Stalls: ***** “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Fawlty Towers – The Play, is a faithful recreation of the award winning television show, taking its best bits and executing some of the finest routines in comedy. It is an adaptation of three episodes – so expect to see hotel inspectors, head injuries, moose heads and fire drills. Watching it as an audience member and hearing the laughter erupt around the Apollo Theatre instead of a studio audience recording in the living room is an experience in itself. “
The Upcoming: **** “Fawlty Towers is, as a play, nothing new; it doesn’t take comedy in a novel, unseen direction. But it’s a pitch-perfect resurrection of what is a brilliant show and has lost none of its glamour; indeed, the humour is refreshingly courageous even if fans have seen it before. And with excellent performances that capture the spirit of Cleese’s classic sitcom, it’s a production not to be missed.”
Theatre Weekly: **** “The result is spectacularly funny. This cleverly written farce has mostly stood the test of time and the enthusiastic slapstick remains just as hilarious as it was, maybe even more so. Director, Caroline Jay Ranger has kept the spirit of Fawlty Towers in every aspect of the production.”
The Stage: *** “Entertaining sitcom adaptation will please John Cleese fans”
Fairy Powered Productions: ***** “The casting for this play was exceptional. Anna-Jane Casey (Calendar Girls, Billy Elliot) as Sybil Fawlty was the night’s standout performance. You’d swear you were watching the real Sybil Fawlty onstage. Her demeanour, tone of voice, glares, and one-of-a-kind laugh were so on point that I had to remind myself it was Anna-Jane on stage, rather than Prunella Scales.”
The Arts Desk: ***** “There are many definitions of bravery, and taking on the challenge of embodying John Cleese as Basil Fawlty in Cleese’s own stage adaptation of Fawlty Towers would undoubtedly be one of them. But Adam Jackson-Smith pulls it off with aplomb, deftly nailing Basil’s every acidic aside, outburst of impotent rage or episode of manic terror. Or, indeed, silly walk.”
All That Dazzles: ***** “Caroline Jay Ranger’s direction takes the source material and finds ways to make it play out on stage to the best possible effect. Faithfully recreating moments that have transcended generations to become a part of popular culture, she also finds new ways to tell the story, bringing something fresh to the narrative.”
Jonathan Baz Reviews: ***** “This critic sat down with scepticism and left the theatre with eyes and cheeks wet from laughter. Quality comedy demands a holy trinity of first-class writing, acting genius and pinpoint timing. Fawlty Towers has all three – it’s the funniest show in town.”
Fawlty Towers: The Play continues to play at the Apollo Theatre until the 28th September. To book tickets visit: Love Theatre.com, London Theatre Direct or London Box Office.