Faulty Towers – The Dining Experience Review

15/07/2013

1,637 3 minutes read

Faulty Towers
The Dining Experience

www.faultytowers.net

Reviewed by Petra Aston

Oh well, I don’t really know where to start with this… I was asked to go and see Faulty Towers, the Dining Experience at the Charing Cross Hotel in London so I thought why not. I am a huge fan of Fawlty Towers, I absolutely love the characters and going out for dinner sounded fun. Having said that, I was not prepared for what was going to happen.

We were waiting at the bar of the hotel with our drinks and I wasn’t really paying any attention when suddenly somebody took our glasses away. I thought hang on, I haven’t even finished and wanted to complain but then I saw who the culprit was, it was Manuel. From this point onwards I couldn’t stop laughing. Very soon Sybil and Basil entered the room and the show has started. The show is a dining experience based in the Fawlty Towers Hotel, with their three main stars. With only a third of the show scripted, everything, absolutely everything can happen. The guests were seated by Manuel literally, pushed into their seats, until Basil interfered and asked that Manuel show us to the table and not just place us on the floor! At that point I started to get a bit nervous as I didn’t know who is going to be next, next in line for the mayhem in the two hour eat, drink and laugh sensation.

As soon as we were sitting down we realised that Manuel was in charge of laying the table and serving our drinks. Well that should tell you everything; we just about had cutlery on our table and he just about served us drinks, if you were lucky in the right glass and not in the coffee cup! We had been transported back to the chaotic mayhem of the famous Torquay hotel with nobody knowing what was going on. The rolls were thrown around the table by Manuel hoping that the guest will catch them, the napkins were stolen and given to other guest. Finally our soup arrived, and then taken away again to another guest only to find that the cooks false teeth were in it anyway. We couldn’t concentrate on the soup course as the witty interaction between Manuel, Sybil and Basil was nonstop. All the famous scenes from the TV shows were staged; the Germans, the dead hamster, the fire drill to name a couple but also a lot of improvisation by the actors. All three actors were absolutely fantastic, spitting images of the original cast. Not just in the way they dressed but their face expressions, the way they talked, you really thought you are sitting in the original Fawlty Towers restaurant. Everybody in the audience took part which really made the whole experience – everybody reacting differently as no one knew what to expect next. Two hours of nonstop laughing, this is what they promised and this is what you got. You were able to talk to them or if you needed anything, they waited on hand and foot on you or not! The food was as billed – a 3 course dinner in 70s style. Make sure you are not absolutely ravenous when your first arrive as with Manuel and Basil it’s a fairly long wait to get anything edible!, despite the best intentions of Sybil to keep the two men under control but as soon she left the room chaos ensured.

I can honestly say that this was the best show I have ever seen, two hours of nonstop laughing and a lovely meal. This is the perfect show for every Fawlty Towers fan but also for anybody who needs a good laugh.

I will never forget this evening.

Rating: 5/5