Fawlty Towers The Play – Liverpool Empire

John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers the Play is sure to be a great night out for anyone wanting to have a good laugh. I was delighted to see John Cleese’s name on the programme, wondering whether he had any part in the plays production. His is the first name you see on the programme, down as adapted for the stage by. What a difficult task that must have been, trying to keep fans of the show happy with the expected gags, but also making sure it works on stage. Which it sure did.

Danny Bayne playing the iconic Basil got the audience laughing as soon as he entered the stage and had his mannerisms and look down to a t. Matched brilliantly by Mia Austen as Sybil. Their energy bouncing lines off each other really set up the play as a whole. It was like you could almost imagine the consequences of Basil’s actions as the play progressed and how she would react.

Hemi Yeroham was my favourite cast member as he played the role of Manuel in such a silly and endearing way. His physicality and facial expressions particularly when acting clueless were perfect for the character. Judging by his break the fourth wall look to the audience moment and getting a big laugh, I may not have been the only one who thought this.

Set and costume designer Liz Ascroft lends the right amount of staying true to the original material and making sure the costumes and overall look translates visually on the stage too. The set design was cleverly designed to have a hotel room at the very top of the stage, with the reception lobby desk space and dining room at the bottom. With the Fawlty towers sign to the side, which for act 2 changed to ‘fatty owls’. It was typical British silly humour used throughout.

The infamous German scene known so well from the show was the climax. Danny Bayne’s physicality as Basil had me grinning ear to ear. The dialogue of course compliments this but the slapstick comedy moments really worked by themselves. The play came to a chaotically explosive ending, with gunshots, smoke, the whole ensemble talking over each other, earning a well-deserved round of applause from the audience for the big finish.

Needless to say, if you’re a fan of the show, this is a true homage to the original series. What it does so well at is weaving what would otherwise be several different moments across the well-loved episodes and condensing it into a linear but entertaining 1 hour 50 minute play (including interval)

Fawlty Towers The Play runs until Saturday 15th November at Liverpool Empire with tickets available at https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/liverpool-empire/ before moving on to other UK venues.

Reviewer: Emma Lambe

Reviewed: 11th November 2025

North West End UK Rating: