SPAMALOT - THEATRE REVIEW

Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 3 February 2015

Spamalot can hardly be called a spring chicken - having trodden the boards for a decade now, including not one but two stints on the West End and having undertaken more tours than you could shake a holy hand grenade of Antioch at. It is also heavily based (or ‘lovingly ripped off’ as the show prefers) off of The Holy Grail; that big-screen comedy outing for the Monty Python team that this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. And yet, whilst most shows, particularly comedies, would be creaking under the weight of such age, Spamalot, thanks in part to the timeless silliness and humour of its ‘Python’ pedigree, a peppering of up-to-date pop culture gags and references and an incredibly game and able cast, is as fresh, funny and irresistibly daft as ever.

It’s impossible to deny the massive cultural impact Cleese, Idle, Palin and pals had on the comedy landscape with their brilliantly original and decidedly before-it’s-time output of the 70’s, 80’s with Monty Python and beyond, and it’s no hyperbole to say the impact of their invention and inspired ludicrousness can still be felt in a swathe of comedy performers, shows and writing to this day, so it is with little surprise that Spamalot remains one of the most eccentric, self-reflexive and downright postmodern shows around. It is also a heck of a lot of fun, being disarmingly witty, frequently hilarious and gloriously silly from the off. Loosely following the plot of Holy Grail, the show charts the exploits of King Arthur (Joe Pasquale) and his colourful troupe of knights on their hunt for the titular chalice, consequently replicating some of the films most beloved sequences whilst allowing for cameos from favourites such as the The Black Knight (complete with detachable limbs) and the shrubbery-demanding ‘Knights who say Ni’.

For all of the plentiful fan service, however, Spamalot’s biggest strength and appeal is in its self-awareness and how it practically revolves around lampooning and parodying the conventions and cliches of musical theatre as a whole. Plenty of shows are savvy enough to play on their own artificiality for laughs, but Spamalot offers by far the most confident, integrated and hilarious approach to doing so. To divulge too many specifics would risk spoiling what is a continually surprising and wonderfully energised production that constantly pokes fun at itself and musicals as a whole, as well as a liberal helping of digs and quips at such targets as Susan Boyle, The Great British Bake Off, Michelle Obama and even Cheryl Cole and her new expandable surname. This latest touring production also gets in some localised comedy, even though much of it feels a trifle ‘insert venue name here’ (with the exception of a cute nod to Birmingham’s Bullring Shopping Centre). There is also a substantially broad palette to the comedy employed, from witty repartee and wordplay, visual gags and slapstick, cartoonish violence of the family friendly variety and even of course the ever-reliable fart and French gags. For old and young alike, Spamalot offers a continual bombardment of frenzied, varied comedy that offers a giggle or laugh for practically everyone.

Amidst all the mayhem, homage, parody and pop culture referencing, Spamalot frequently allows itself to fly off in bizarre, hilarious tangents and yet never falls prey to the splintered and incoherent messiness of some of the Python’s later output, in particular the likes of And Now For Something Completely Different. Much of this is thanks to Eric Idle’s wonderful book and lyrics, both of which have gone through continuing updating and revisions over the course of the past decade to keep them up to date and relevant to UK audiences.

Enormous credit must also go to the current cast, who are in no small way responsible for injecting the show with such infectious energy and joy. Joe Pasquale is no stranger to the show, or indeed its lead role of King Arthur, and it isn’t difficult to see why he is repeatedly asked back to be involved. His own brand of squeaky silliness remains as infectiously funny as ever, blends seamlessly with the nonsense around him, and despite his singing hardly shaking the rafters, within the Spamalot universe this only serves to make the whole thing even funnier. Sarah Earnshaw steals scenes (and numbers) with relish and real diva gusto as ‘The Lady of the Lake’, a character who is in many ways the shows figurehead of parody and pastiche, from her now-iconic ‘Song That Goes Like This’ which pokes fun at that ballad which appears in practically every musical, through to an Act 2 interruption where she hilariously laments her lack of stage time since the interval. Earnshaw ratchets the character up to 11, precisely where she belongs, and meets her hilarious, parodic performance with some stunning high notes and belting, whilst thankfully not missing the opportunity to poke fun at the kind of over-wrought vocal gymnastics so many of her musical theatre peers are guilty of.

Arthur's cast of companions are similarly performed with gusto and charisma by an impressive company which includes Jamie Taylor and Richard Kent both doing some truly impressively and diverse multi-role work, whilst Will Hawksworth, Richard Meek and Josh Wilmott likewise give it their all as the distinctive yet suitably whacky and untypical cavalcade of Knights of the (very) round table. All are equally hilarious, and what is most evident from the entire cast is just how much fun is being had, and as mentioned their terrific, sporty turns are the lynchpins amongst the killer rabbits, cheerleading old crones, camelot-cum-vegas shenanigans and the rest of the inspired insanity that inhabits the Spamalot world. The only member of the company who seemed a little subdued amongst the mayhem was Todd Carty, playing Arthur’s beleaguered man-servant Patsy. Carty, likewise, has been in the show for numerous runs, but unlike Pasquale, the familiarity and time spent with the show can be felt.

Given the shows age and the now ubiquitous nature of the Monty Python output, there is a strong chance you will be familiar with at least some of what Spamalot offers, but regardless of this the current touring production offers a great deal to recommend. Those who have yet to see the show will find themselves transported to an irrepressibly hilarious tour-de-force of comedic hijinks, silliness and musical theatre mayhem, and any fans of the industry owe it to themselves to see such a wonderfully original and seminal production. Monty Python fans will find a perfectly judged balance of content old and new, and even those who have seen the show before will find this production re-energised and well worth a repeat performance thanks to the excellent cast and the new tweaks and additions to the book and numbers. As Idle (and here Carty) chime, ‘If life seems jolly rotten, there’s something you’ve forgotten and that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing’, and the raucous, side-splitting and delectable theatre-going treat that is Spamalot remains one of the industries most original and inimitable opportunities to do precisely that. Inspiredly bonkers and hilarious absurd musical theatre doesn’t get much more meta - or better - than this.

RATING - * * * * (4 out of 5 Stars)

SPAMALOT is running at the NEW ALEXANDRA THEATRE, Birmingham, from Monday 2 to Saturday 7 February 2015.

CLICK HERE for more information on the show's run at the New Alexandra Theatre and to book your own tickets!

Alternatively, telephone the theatre's booking line direct on 0844 871 3011.

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Press tickets for this performance of East is East were provided courtesy of the New Alexandra Theatre directly. The author gratefully acknowledges their generous invitation.