It was standing room only in every bar and eaterie at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday night; theatregoers were even sitting on the stairs pre-curtain up.
We were all there to watch Fawlty Towers the Play – a brand-new stage production adapted by John Cleese. Who, along with his then wife, actress Connie Booth, wrote and acted in the 1975 TV comedy, Fawlty Towers, a hotel at 16 Elwood Avenue, Torquay, boasting “traditional English hospitality”.
Fast forward over 50 years and Cleese has chosen three of his favourite episodes out of the original 12, to delight audiences once again.
Directed by Caroline Jay Ranger, those three – The Hotel Inspectors, The Germans and Communication Problems – are so cleverly and seamlessly merged into one story, we couldn’t see the join.
The stage setting was a highlight. It rarely changed all night, apart from a pesky moose head, and we could constantly view any shenanigans in the hotel foyer, a bedroom and the dining room, plus an outside shot of the premises. Imaginative stuff, cleverly designed.
Lamplight heralded nighttime scenes; turned off, it was daytime. Simples.
The still very familiar theme tune heralded the start of proceedings when Basil (the indefatigable Danny Bayne) has to deal with every hotel proprietor’s nightmare, an infuriating guest in the guise of a Mr Hutchinson (a dual role for Greg Haiste, who also played a German visitor to the hotel).
And oh boy, I don’t blame the short-tempered Basil for losing his rag with this relentlessly demanding and irritating, germ-phobic little man who finally gets his comeuppance in very amusing scenes. Hats off to Haiste for his realistic portrayal.
Basil hears a hotel inspector is doing the rounds. Could it be Mr H? Will he have to be, gulp, pleasant and polite to a guest for once in his life?
With Basil’s wife, Sybil (Mia Austen), constantly on the phone with her friends, Basil also finds himself with an even more irritating guest, in the guise of Mrs Richards (Jemma Churchill), who refuses to turn her hearing aids on, much to Basil’s growing frustration.
And it’s the disappearance of money from Mrs Richards’ room that seques neatly into Communication Problems when he entrusts his (secret from Sybil) horse race winnings to guest, The Major (Paul Nicholas of Eastenders and Just Good Friends fame) who, unfortunately, has a memory like a sieve. As you can imagine for poor Basil, all’s not well that ends not well – financially anyway.
Fawlty Towers’ famous waiter, Manuel (Hemi Yeroham) placed Basil’s winning bet and is also ordered to keep his winnings a secret. His famous “I know nothing” drives his boss round the bend, coming as it does at a time when he really wants Manuel to come clean about the dosh.
Long-suffering waitress Polly Sherman (Joanne Clifton) is also in on the winnings secret, but does a better job than Manuel of covering for Basil.
And if all the above isn’t enough, the hotel is expecting German guests, a fact that scares many of the elderly guests. Basil promises himself never to mention “the war” while serving the foreigners but suffering from concussion due to the aforementioned moose head falling on his own head, those two words spout from his lips like verbal diarrhoea.
With his wife at the hospital having an ingrowing toenail removed, the head-bandaged Basil has also to deal with a fire drill.
The whole production is a riotous farce having hints of slapstick thrown in with perfect comedy timing by all concerned.
Every member of the cast admirably suited their roles. Austen as the bossy Sybil, had her cackling laughter down to a tee; and she was a dead ringer for the TV show’s star, Prunella Scales.
Clifton also did a fantastic job of bringing to the stage, waitress Polly, a role played by co-writer Connie Booth on our TV screens. She managed to keep a sense of hospitality professionalism amid all the mayhem around her, never once descending to their madcap levels.
Spanish waiter, Manuel, on the other hand was far from professional and Yeroham perfectly plays him with the mannerisms fans can recall – bumbling, non-English speaking and totally unsuited to waiting on tables; but lovable all the same.
Nicholas as The Major had us laughing from the moment he appeared on stage, just by the way he comically bent his legs when speaking. Dressed smartly, he had the air of a retired member of the gentry. His actions – from forgetful old man to gun-toting, have-a-go hero – added greatly to the merriment.
And how Basil resisted using that gun on the so-annoying Mrs Richards I’ll never know, which goes to show how convincing Churchill is in that role.
And then we come to Basil Fawlty – he of the bad manners and funny walk to name just two of his shortcomings.
For two hours, Bayne as Fawlty, whizzed around the stage, a tall figure talking non-stop. I really don’t know how he did it. As with all the cast, his comic timing was perfect. It was easy to imagine we were watching John Cleese himself.
Fawlty Towers the Play had no swearing, sex or violence (not counting the moose) proving good, clean fun is all you need to keep a packed theatre entertained.
Fawlty Towers the Play runs until Saturday, May 16th, 2026 at Hull New Theatre with tickets available at (01482) 300306 and www.hulltheatres.co.uk
Reviewer: Jackie Foottit
Reviewed: 12th May 2026
North West End UK Rating: