The TV series “Fawlty Towers”, which was called “Hotell i seerklasse” on NRK, was written by John Cleese and his wife Connie Booth and only 12 episodes were shown from 1975 to 1979.
It was an immediate success, not only in England, but also in Norway. The TV series has achieved a score of 8.8 out of 10 in IMDB, which makes it one of the most liked by news in the world.
Now the series has become a theater play, and the premiere is already at the weekend!
The play, Fawlty Towers The Play’ as it is called, has been adapted by Cleese, who also co-wrote – and starred in – the original TV series.
Cleese was Basil Fawlty, the charming but inhospitable owner of a chaotic fictional hotel in the southern English seaside town of Torquay. His wife at the time, Connie Booth, played the waitress Polly.
– Best in a theatre
Cleese tells Reuters the farce is best seen in the theater as he takes the stage version of his classic 1970s comedy show to London’s West End.
The 84-year-old has adapted three of his favorite episodes into the play, which premieres at London’s Apollo Theater on Saturday.
– Farce, and this is farce, is best in a theatre, because in a theater you can see everything that happens, he says in an interview with Reuters.
He believes the experience is much better in a theater and that the theater industry needs more humour.
– There used to be so much more comedy in Britain (…) It’s nice to sit in an audience that laughs because you laugh more than you do when you watch it at home on your own, Cleese tells the news agency.
– A terribly bad idea
Actor Adam Jackson-Smith will play Basil in the new play, while Anna-Jane Casey will play the role of Basil’s wife, Sybil.
– People assume that because the series was broadcast in the late 70s and through the 80s, that audience is the only ones who will enjoy the play. It’s just nonsense, says Casey in the interview.
When John Cleese came out with these plans in February 2023, opinions were, at best, divided about whether it was particularly wise to take the TV success to the oblique shores.
– A terribly bad idea, wrote The Times.
– The truth is that John Cleese is not very funny anymore, wrote The Independent.
Then you can see what the reviewers say when the play has premiered.
PS! John Cleese is also working on a TV sequel to “Fawlty Towers” together with his daughter Camilla. But it will only be with Basil from the original series, and Camilla as his (in the series illegitimate) daughter, according to Reuters.
