Devon beckons for the hapless staff of Fawlty Towers

HAVING enjoyed two sold out West End seasons, Fawlty Towers - The Play began a 10 month UK tour in September and is heading west to Devon - the county which inspired the beloved Torquay-based hotel sitcom.

- Richard Barber

Talking about the runaway success of the play, John Cleese said: "To be honest, I was more confident about it than almost anything I've ever done. I remember reading the finished script and thinking it was really funny. And the English do love farce. Think Ben Travers. Think Brian Rix and Ray Cooney. Look at the success of Noises Off and One Man, Two Guvnors. Farce is universal."

For all his quiet confidence the theatre production would be enthusiastically received, he couldn't have predicted its rapturous reception.

The Daily Mail said it was "a fine reproduction of a vintage antique". The Express deemed it "the funniest show in town" and The Times called it "hugely entertaining".

I sat next to two women, both in their 30s, and not only were they enjoying it, they knew every single word of every sketch - written before either of them was born.

Cleese doesn't try to hide his pride in this much-loved TV classic co-created with first wife, Connie Booth. But he shakes his head in mild wonder at the way in which it seems to have rooted itself in the public consciousness.

"I was told not so long ago of a family who have a game where one of them tries to introduce a quote from Fawlty Towers into the conversation without the other three realising. How great a compliment is that? For instance, if anyone says: 'Don't mention the war, everyone knows its origin."

The show opened at London's Apollo theatre in May 2024 and he won't easily forget the reaction of the first night audience. "They were literally rocking with laughter." But then who could resist the self-delusional Basil, once described so brilliantly by Cleese himself as: "Rude but inefficient"?