Iconic, bawdy, hilarious, completely politically incorrect and often plain absurd, ‘Fawlty Towers’ was a British sitcom that ran for only two series in 1975 and then again in 1979.
However, a few people seemed to like it. In fact, it became a worldwide cult phenomenon and in 2000, it was named the ‘Best Television Series of All Time’ by the British Film Institute.
The Park Regis North Quay Hotel has tapped into this and is staging a theatre performance celebrating the unforgettable characters from the show. ‘An Evening of Fawltie Towers’ plays homage to the physical humour, the melting pot of emotions, the absurdity and hilarity of everyday situations in a hotel and all while you enjoy a glass of wine and a delicious dinner.
Anthony Phillips from the hotel adds that “audiences can expect an evening in Basil’s Fawlty Towers restaurant where anything can happen and probably will.” He also points out that the show stars award-winning comedian and actor Martin Blair who won praise at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. When questioned whether the younger generations would enjoy the show or if they would even know ‘Fawlty Towers’, Phillips was quick to explain, “I definely think young people will know the of the show, it’s iconic and loved by people all over the world.”
FAWLTY TOWERS — FUN FACTS
John Cleese was paid £6,000 for 43 weeks' work and supplemented his income by appearing in television advertisements.
At a 30th anniversary event honouring the show, Cleese said, "Connie and I wrote that first episode and we sent it in to Jimmy Gilbert, the executive whose job it was to assess the quality of the writing who said, 'This is full of clichéd situations and stereotypical characters and I cannot see it as being anything other than a disaster.' And Jimmy himself said, 'You're going to have to get them out of the hotel, John, you can't do the whole thing in the hotel.' Whereas, of course, it's in the hotel that the whole pressure cooker builds up."
The show was co-written by John Cleese and Connie Booth who were married to each other at the time of the first series. By the second, they had been divorced for almost a year, after ten years of marriage.
The names of Basil and Sybil Fawlty are thought to have originated from The Picture of Dorian Gray’.
During the series, Andrew Sachs was twice seriously injured while playing Manuel (the waiter). Cleese describes using a real metal pan to knock him unconscious in ‘The Wedding Party’, although he would have preferred to use a rubber one.
‘An Evening with Fawltie Towers’ is for one night only, Saturday June 9 at Park Regis North Quay Hotel.
