The Fawlty Towers revival continues apace.
Not content with rebooting the TV series with Rob Reiner, John Cleese has now penned a stage adaptation of three episodes of the 40-year-old BBC series, which is widely considered one of the best British shows of all time.
Fawlty Towers: The Play is based on three episodes: “The Hotel Inspectors,” “The Germans” and “Communication Problems,” and will merge the three into one. One of the episodes, “The Germans,” has caused a stir in recent years as a character repeatedly uses the N-word in reference to members of the West Indies cricket team. It was briefly taken down from UKTV’s streaming service four years ago before being reinstated.
Cleese said he has “assembled a top-class group of comedy actors” and written “one huge finale” to the play.
It was originally staged in Australia but is now coming to London’s West End Apollo Theatre, with tickets on sale on Wednesday before it kicks off May 4.
The news comes almost a year to the day after Cleese announced he was rebooting Fawlty Towers with Reiner’s Castle Rock Entertainment in the U.S. He is writing and starring alongside daughter Camilla Cleese as an over-the-top, cynical and misanthropic Basil Fawlty navigates the modern world.
Cleese has become something of an anti-woke firebrand in recent years and has been heavily critical of the BBC. The 83-year-old has already confirmed the reboot will not appear on the national broadcaster. He presents a GB News talk show titled The Dinosaur Hour.
Although it only ran for two six-part seasons, finishing in 1979, Fawlty Towers has ranked number one on numerous best all-time British comedy lists.
Written by Cleese and Connie Booth, the show followed hapless hotel manager Fawlty and a hilarious cast of characters that included legendary Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs), Cleese’s bossy wife Sybil (Prunella Scales) and their chambermaid Polly, played by Booth.
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