Fawlty Towers at the Apollo may be the best museum piece you’ll ever see. A full-length play has been carved out of three episodes: ‘The Hotel Inspectors’, ‘The Germans’, and ‘Communication Problems’ in which the deaf guest, Mrs Richards, made a nuisance of herself by refusing to switch on her hearing aid in case the batteries ran out. For anyone who saw the sitcom in the 1970s, this is a pleasantly weird show. It’s like returning to a seaside funfair after half a century and finding all the rides unchanged and the staff more or less as you remember them.
If Beckett had written family comedies he might have created something as amusing as this
Paul Nicholas makes an even better Major than the Major. And his rich, fruity voice is an unexpected treat. Manuel is played by Hemi Yeroham, who hadn’t seen the show before he landed the role. He adds a few personal touches that work very well and he’s at least as likeable as Andrew Sachs – plus, he’s better looking.
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