Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience at Arta, Glasgow Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS EXPERIENCE WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.
Reviewed by Deb
A dining experience I won’t be forgetting for a very long time! I haven’t laughed so much for an age.
Faulty Towers is a tribute to the 1970’s sitcom Fawlty Towers, having transformed the upstairs bar and events area in Arta, Glasgow into an immersive and interactive stage. Upon arrival we were led into the bar area and as each group arrived, they bought drinks and waited for the evening to begin.
Faulty Towers, The Dining Experience debuted in 1997 and was one of the most successful events at the Edinburgh Fringe. Over a million diners have enjoyed the antics of Basil, Sybil and Manuel over the years.
Without warning Basil, Sybil and Manuel arrived to seat us at our tables as they interweaved with the guests to bring everyone into the performance. These three iconic characters donned the looks, voices and ‘isms we all so loved from the show. They were extremely comfortable in their roles and quickly had the audience laughing and being involved with the show.
Guests were seated at four large round tables over a fairly large area, with some unpredictable moments as they kept up the banter and kept bringing the group together. The way the seating was arranged did make it difficult to witness everything that was happening as well as eat our meals. The cast members had to perform loud enough for everyone to hear, do their skits as well as involve the audience, not that simple especially as some came more to watch than get involved.
The food was definitely not ‘fine dining’ and could have been improved on. The menu was simple ‘70s style three course meal of soup (roasted tomato), chicken served with fondant (well hopefully the other nights will get this and not just a lukewarm lump of potato that had not been browned in oil) and a chocolate orange tart that was missing some cream to dampen its extremely strong flavour. But maybe as Sybil did tell us the chef had passed out on the counter and could explain the faults of the meal.
Some of the skits performed were from the show, but generally it was improvised. Two of my favourites was Manuel and his ‘hamster’ – while clearing the main course Manuel took some left-over potato for his friend; only for the hijinks to follow as Basil finds out he had his ‘hamster’ which was a rat. A chase ensued between Basil and Manuel to try and get the rat out of the restaurant, only for Sybil to enter and they pretend like nothing is happening. The other was ‘don’t mention the war’; a chap at our table was singled out as being a German and was a great sport in playing along.
I would go again to an interact and immersive dinner as I am still giggling at the way the cast interacted with us, the way the food was served being a typical skit from the show. The cast was fabulous and I would have loved if they had come back in to socialise after our meal, just so we could get to know them as themselves.
Rating: 4.5/5
https://www.arta.co.uk/event/faulty-towers-dinner-show-4/
Shows: Wed 6 – Sun 17th November 2024
Prices: £35 (Children) or £55 (Adults)
Please note: There is no disability access at this venue.