|
|
|
|
|
The bright side of laughter
Something fischy! Let your imagination drift and you easilt beleive you were in a Finnish village somewhere in mediaeval England schlapping you neightbour with a fisch Spamalot The New Alexandra Theatre **** IF the Olympics had a category for
silliest musical then we would already have a gold medal banker for
London 2012. This is the daftest show around bar none. For those who have never gazed upon the bright
side of life in the flesh, so to speak, its is a (lovingly) ripped off
musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail written by Eric Idle
and John Du Prez. It also seems to be turning into the Todd Carty
pension plan as the former Grange Hill and EastEnders actor appears to
have become a permanent fixture as King Arthur's loyal keeper of the
royal horses hooves sounds and general royal pack horse, Patsy. But when he is so good in the role why change it?
He has cornered the market on downtrodden peasants and plays a mean
coconut shell so what more could you ask for. Coconut shells you might well ask? Coconuts are
much cheaper to keep and take up much less room than a real horse and
there are no vet's bills. Patsy's lord and master this time around is
Leamington Spa's West End actor Steven Pacey. The role of Arthur, has been played by the likes
of Matthew Kelly, who was holding court on the last visit to the Alex
and Phil Jupitas who wore the crown on its last Midland visit and new
monarch Spacey adds a regal, in the very loosest sense of the word, air
to proceedings showing a nice sense of timing and comedy as our very
British hero.
Adding an air of glamour, mystery and pretty well
anything else that needs adding, is Bonnie Langford as the Lady of the
Lake. She can certainly belt out a song when it comes to heart-rending
ballads such as the touching The Song That Goes Like This or the
tragic The Diva's Lament. As in the film the rest of the cast have to multi
task, with Robin Armstrong as Sir Bedevere, among others, Rob Delaney as
Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot etc., Kit Orton as Sir
Lancelot etc., Adam Ellis as Price Herbert., and Jon Robyns as Sir
Dennis Galahad and anyone we have left out. Five cast and 18 roles. These include the Knights who say Ni, whose
primary purpose appears to be to see if they can corpse Steven Pacey
with laughter, dancing girls, a killer rabbit, God, an enchanter called
Tim and then there are the ensemble who give us Finnish peasants with
the famed Fisch Schlapping Dance, Bible bashing monks, plague victims, a
dancing nun and chorus amid the big budget special effects of a flying
cow and the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.
The musical numbers are deep and thoughtful such
as the plague ballad Not Dead Fred's I am not dead yet or
Arthur's I'm All Alone with full cast, crew, chorus and stage
hands. Then we have the upbeat Manilow-style disco
number His Name is Lancelot when Sir Launcelot is revealed as
being Gay – Eric Idle, Monty Python and Spamalot do not do PC
incidentally. There is even audience participation when the Holy Grail is found, with a helping hand from God, beneath the seat of an audience member, in this case Irene Hales, who is dragged on stage to be thanked and serenaded and leaves with a scroll, small present and a Polaroid picture of her night as a star.
The end also sees a sing-along, complete with
drop down words, for a reprise of Britain's favourite funeral ditty,
honest, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, sung earlier by
Patsy and Arthur as they hunted for a shrubbery – don't ask – so they
could continue their quest for the Holy Grail. Providing the music is musical director Tony
Castro and an excellent seven piece band while direction is by
Christopher Luscombe. The historical accuracy of last week's Alex
production, Anne Boleyn, might have been debateable, this is more . . .
diabolical, but it is great fun from beginning to end, awash with jokes
and wit as well as taking affectionate digs at all manner of Broadway
and West End musicals. If you don't laugh at this then you really should
see a doctor . . . or an undertaker . . . altogether now, always look
on the bright side . . . . Roger Clarke And from
the bright side of life
. . . ****
IF ever one song perfectly suited a comedy musical like this it has to
be Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Eric Idle's crackpot version
of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table searching for the Holy
Grail is a laugh-a-minute, overflowing with humour and lively music. So when the panto-style
song sheet is lowered on stage at the finale, just about everyone in the
audience joins the terrific cast in belting out that famous number...and
they probably hummed it on the way home, too.
Leamington Spa-born Steven
Pacey, star of many West End and TV shows, sparkles as King Arthur in a
king-sized crown, galloping on stage to hoofbeats created by his scruffy
servant Patsy with the help of two half coconut shells. Todd Carty, a hit on ITV's
Dancing on Ice, is back as the loyal, overloaded Patsy, delivering some
remarkable expressions on that well worn face, especially when the king
is singing I'm All Alone. A lovely performance, too,
from Bonnie Langford as the Lady of the Lake, and there are hilarious
scenes with the song I'm Not dead
Yet, the rude raid on the French castle, and the sword fight
in which King Arthur lops off the arms and legs of the Black Knight who
still insists the scrap is halved. Eventually the Grail is
discovered in row D of the stalls, leading to one audience member, Irene
Hales, having to go on stage to celebrate with the King and his Knights
on opening night. To 31.03.12. Don't miss it.
|
|
|
|
