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Back in Blighty, there are few TV comedy shows more revered than Fawlty Towers, a testament to its comedic genius considering only 12 episodes were ever made.
The Regency Intercontinental Hotel hosted the internationally-acclaimed Faulty Towers The Dining Experience, serving up some fresh fare with plenty of laughs on the side.
The TV show followed the adventures of Basil Fawlty, a misanthropic hotelier with a penchant for losing his temper, often with his dim-witted Spanish waiter, Manuel, much to the dismay of his bossy wife Sybil ... And the Dining Experience doesn’t stray far from the path.
The experience is an ad-libbed, loosely-scripted tribute to the iconic UK TV series, and featured some of the best gags from the show, including the infamous Goose Step.
The fun started as the audience were called to be seated in the restaurant of the ‘Faulty Towers hotel’ by actors playing Sybil (Amanda McKay), Basil (Kevin Whittle) and Manuel (Geoffrey Reczek).
Australian actor Whittle perfectly mirrored the talent of British comic genius John Cleese, who played the role in the TV series, no small feat.
I arrived at the show straight from work and was still wearing my glad rags and as he called me to my table, he remarked how stylish I looked ... praise from Caesar indeed!
I got off lucky and even managed to hang on to my spectacles when Basil ordered Manuel to collect people’s glasses and he ended up with at least five pairs, leaving some guests temporarily blind.
As the meal rocketed along the laughs came more frequently than the food and, when the soup starter did eventually arrive, a woman at my table got more than she bargained for when she found the chef’s dentures at the bottom of her bowl, much to Basil’s dismay.
Other shenanigans came in the form of a fire drill, a rat in the kitchen, betting on a horse race and Basil ending up with a pair of knickers on his head.
The marvellous thing about this show is that the actors not only look the part, but played them with conviction and swagger that Cleese himself would no doubt be proud of. From Manuel’s ineptitude, to Sybil’s bemoaning, right down to Basil’s impotent rage, all the boxes were ticked for an evening of authentic British humour, served up by Australians and brought to Bahrain by Punchline Media.
