John Cleese brings his iconic TV comedy 'Fawlty Towers' to the London stage

(4 May 2024)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
London - 2 May 2024
1. John Cleese poses with signage
2. Cutaway photographers
3. Photocall with cast (left-right) Anna-Jane Casey, John Cleese, Hemi Yeroham, Adam Jackson-Smith, Victoria Fox and Paul Nicholas
4. Various shots Cleese and Jackson-Smith posing for photos
5. Various shots Cleese and Yeroham pose for photos
Cleese: "I don't know because somebody suggested it a long time ago. I think I think 2016, 2015, I think. Somebody said what about doing it? And then when I realized that you could dovetail three episodes together, if they'd said 'Let's do those three one at a time' I wouldn't have been interested. But when I thought we could dovetail it all together. it means it is a lot of laughs, the best laughs from three half hours all put together. I just thought that was really really worth doing. And we always thought, I always thought the problem was going to be the casting and it wasn't a problem at all. I mean, there were two other Basil's."
Jackson-Smith: "Sure. But they were busy. They were very busy?"
Cleese: "They didin't want to do it. But it was extraordinary because there's so many good actors in this country, not many good writers, but many, many good actors. And it was just lovely to think, 'oh, great, we'll use her. And yes, we got him.' It was a lovely experience."
8. Performance clip - "Fawlty Towers - The Play"
9. SOUNDBITE (English) John Cleese, writer/actor, and Adam Jackson-Smith, actor:
Cleese: "When you're in the theater, you see all the things that are going on. There are no close ups. You've just got to watch this person. You can see everything that's going on. And I think it's funnier in the theater. And then you're surrounded by the people laughing. So you laugh more than you would normally laugh."
Jackson-Smith: "I agree."
10. Performance clip - "Fawlty Towers - The Play"
STORYLINE:
Almost exactly 50 years since its pilot episode aired in the U.K., British classic comedy "Fawlty Towers" is heading to London's West End.
The original, 12 episode series was written by John Cleese and Connie Booth in the 1970s, and has been adapted for the stage by Cleese. He describes the show as three episodes of the beloved sitcom "dovetailed together," with the "best laughs from three half hours all put together."
The TV and stage show follow the exploits of haphazard hotelier Basil Fawlty and his wife Sybil, and a ragtag collection of staff, including waiter and all-round dogsbody Manuel. It is set in a hotel in Torquay, England, and is based on an establishment Cleese and his then wife (and writing partner Booth) stayed in.
Speaking ahead of the play's opening, Cleese said he thinks the show works really well on stage for numerous reasons.
"When you're in the theater, you see all the things that are going on, there are no close ups," he explained. "You can see everything that's going on. And I think it's funnier in the theater. And then you are surrounded by other people laughing. So you laugh more than you would normally laugh."
Adam Jackson-Smith takes on the role of Basil, originally played by Cleese himself.
He joked that the character is "100 perecent at all times," whether he is tending to customers in the restaurant, at the front desk or reprimanding his staff.
The stage is busy at all times with action in every corner - with Jackson-Smith saying the character is both "all encompassing and very satisfying to play for sure."
"Also, Basil happens to be a terrible hotelier," he smiles.
Cleese agrees, "uniquely unqualified," he adds.
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