Reviewed by Catherine Joyce
Last night (8 September 2017) we went to see Monty Python’s Spamalot at Blackpool Opera House; located within Blackpool’s famous Winter Gardens it is one of the UK’s biggest theatres seating almost 3,000 people. The third UK tour of Spamalot opened on Friday 8th September 2017 at Blackpool before embarking on a UK tour for 2017/2018. There is plenty of parking nearby, either on ground level or multi storey car parks and we paid £5.50 to park a few minutes walk away from the theatre. It is worth bearing in mind that the world-famous Illuminations are currently on so allow a little extra time to get into Blackpool and park. The theatre has a choice of bars and there are also restaurants and a café in the Winter Gardens Complex but being situated in the centre of Blackpool means there is plenty of choice when it comes to pre-show drinks or meals.
The film Monty Python and the Holy Grail was first shown in 1975 and has been transformed for the stage by Eric Idle. Whilst not my favourite Monty Python film I have always enjoyed it but was really unsure as to how it would transform into a musical. Monty Python are known for their surreal humour and I was worried that it might just get a bit too silly or absurd. We needn’t have worried, we both felt that the musical was in fact better than the film and spent the whole evening laughing along with the rest of the audience.
Many of the scenes from the film are preserved along with some of the well-known dialogue, including “Can a European Swallow actually carry a coconut?”, “The Knights who say Ni”, “the Trojan rabbit” and of course the coconut shells instead of a horse. The famous Black Night scene was especially well done with the Black Knight losing all four limbs and still claiming a draw.
Changing the film into a musical is a stroke of genius. The songs are undoubtedly daft but fit the show perfectly. We especially enjoyed “I Am Not Dead Yet” which was slapstick comedy at its best. Sarah Harlington who played Lady of the Lake had an amazing voice which was shown off best in the “Whatever Happened to my Part” song and I will never think of Sir Lancelot in the same way again after hearing “His Name is Lancelot” and seeing the men in their gold hot pants and butterfly wings, I am still smiling as I write this review!
Bob Harms as King Arthur is on stage for pretty much the whole night along with his faithful servant Patsy, played by Rhys Owen. In the film version Patsy has almost no dialogue but on stage the role is much more involved including singing the ever popular “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” It’s impossible to pick out a favourite performance though as the whole cast were fantastic and worked together, obviously having a great time too.
Finishing the night with a sing-a-long reprise of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” the cast took their bow in front of an audience who all looked like they had had a great night out.
We really enjoyed our knight (get it?) out and would recommend the show to anyone, we loved it and could quite easily have sat through the show again and still found it just as funny! Python fans will especially enjoy it but no prior knowledge of the film is necessary.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £15 to £49.50 (booking fees may apply).
Spamalot is at the Blackpool Opera House from 8-16 September 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk or call the box office on 0844 856 1111.
Winter Gardens & Opera House Theatre, 97 Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 1HL
