2008 Melbourne Comedy Festival Reviews:
The Funny Tonne (8 April 2008)
What a fantastic evening!! Basil, Sybil and Manuel serve up a decent meal with some extraordinary comedy! A perfect birthday celebration with friends – make sure you let Sybil know – or just a night out with your partner. Even people who aren’t terribly familiar with the Faulties will be captivated by the antics of these three – and those who are familiar with the show all roar with laughter at the recognition of familiar phrases and situations. However, these three actors are not just mimics of the better known John Cleese, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs – the original Basil, Sybil and Manuel. While I’m sure there is a set script the actors are following to some degree, the unique audience each night must make for slightly different improvisations as well, which are certainly a testament to the abilities of [the performer playing Basil], Alison Pollard-Mansergh and Tony Nixon – Basil, Sybil and Manuel, respectively.
Make sure you set aside far more than the 2 hours allotted to the evening in the program: dessert was served at 9:20 and then there was an opportunity after dinner to meet the cast, purchase a bottle of their special wine and have them sign Nigel Bell’s hand drawn caricatures on the labels. I didn’t leave the venue till nearly 10:00: full of beef and potatoes and with an aching jaw from smiling and laughing so much.
MEAP Website (31 March 2008)
The trepidation and excitement in the air was palpable on arrival at The Temple Bar for this unique theatre meal experience. No one seemed to know what to do bar getting a stiff drink and scanning the room for familiar characters. Luckily, everyone was soon herded outside to be announced and seated table by table and the night began.
The basic idea of this performance is that audience members take their places in the Faulty Towers Dining room and, as diners, we are witnesses and sometimes hapless participants in the improvised and scripted shenanigans that ensue. The restaurant becomes a stage and the action occurs while a three course meal is served.
Three of the Fawlty Tower's most loved characters - Basil, Sybil and Manuel - are there to serve, irritate and amuse the audience. They are just as amusing and slapstick as the original characters with Sybil (Alison Pollard-Mansergh) "oh I knowing" away on the telephone while Manuel (Tony Nixon) balances bowls of soup so precariously you are sure they may end up on your lap. Of particular note is [the performer] playing Basil in a role he inhabits both through a natural resemblance and a remarkable countenance. It had never occurred to me how scary and bizarre a character he was but he is both, anointing himself as the 'Manners Police' and sneaking up on those diners that dared to flaut formal dining conventions.
Some of the highlights of the scripted pieces included a runaway Siberian hamster and a tussle over a betting slip. Sometimes the action spills out onto the pavement and nearby diners were treated to glimpses of the show. This is challenging stuff for the actors and they remained in character throughout despite a number of testing guests, one of whom fondled Manuel's bottom during his search for the hamster which was possibly taking the interactive theatre too far. The performers' experience in dealing with the public shone throughout: they judged audience participation well and did not push any shy participants beyond their limits.
Overall, Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience is satisfying, funny and unique and in a way the meal is just the icing on the cake. This is a must-do for fans of the iconic TV show: perfectly executed, excruciatingly funny and not nearly as cringeworthy as one might expect. Groggy Squirrel (30 March 2008)
When you see this show in the Festival Program, it might make you cringe a little. How lame could this get? Well surprisingly this is a brilliantly executed evening of Theatre Restaurant entertainment and if the ear piercing squeals from the nearby table of middle aged ladies were anything to go by, a complete hoot to boot.
A big audience of 83 crowded into the Templebar Precinct that is appropriately a gold curtained drag venue at other times. Sybil (Alison Pollard-Mansergh) began mingling with the crowd around 7pm in a stunningly huge wig. Manuel (Tony Nixon) started scurrying about and was soon followed by a commanding Basil Faulty (Nigel Bell) and we knew the show had begun. The audience were shoved rudely back out onto the street, waiting while the front door key was accidentally lost and found. Basil yelled party's names individually, who were then seated by a cringing, harried Manuel. [The performer playing Basil] has managed to look so uncannily like John Cleese's Basil that my knees quivered in fear a little, as I looked up into his sneering visage.
Bread rolls were chucked across the room to everyone by Manuel while Sybil continued to mingle and pass out butter, laughing like a drain and we were soon enjoying the pumpkin soup of first course. The Food was basic theatre restaurant type chicken or beef, but it was yummy and suited the sort of Faulty Towers 70's theme. The performance gradually built through the first course to get into some plot development between courses that involved iconic references to many of the episodes of Fawlty Towers. Basil used Manuel to place a secret bet, we were treated to a fire drill, the chef collapsed in the kitchen and Manuel's hamster escaped, amongst a myriad of other things that you can spot as you go.
There were slatherings of violent slapstick and a hilarious chase scene on Smith St that we watched like a silent movie through the bar's windows. The show was all nicely tied up by dessert and a good night was had by all. The audience were a very integral part of the show, so beware that you may find a fluffy 'hamster' down the back of your collar or your dining table climbed upon.
I was surprised and impressed by this show; the performances were frighteningly pitch perfect and the show delivered on all its promises.
It's a little pricey but covers a full night of entertainment and a three-course meal, so well worth it, especially if you are a Fawlty Towers fan. |
