Fans of the 1970’s TV comedy series Fawlty Towers gathered at Oak Theatre to be entertained by local Southport theatre company, Gambolling Arena, who brought the classic characters of Basil, Sybil, Manuel and Polly to life as audience members enjoyed a 1970's inspired buffet in the new cabaret style seating space with 14 tables plus chairs to accommodate 140 guests.
Sybil's Soirée takes its
inspiration from the humour written into the TV series by John Cleese and Connie
Booth, who played Basil and Polly in the much loved and acclaimed series.
Gambolling Arena Artistic
Director, Suzy Walker was in the audience whose demographic mainly reflected those
who remembered the TV shows, of which there were only 12, but there were also some
younger fans attending, and everyone displayed their enjoyment of the evening,
it was laughter from the word go.
The four main characters
portraying Basil, Sybil, Manuel and Polly had the audience in the palm of their
hands as they reproduced the mad-cap antics of the TV characters and singer,
Rita got everyone joining in with the sing-along feature of the production, singing 1970's inspired disco hits of the era; the
audience were singing, dancing and waving their hands in the air and joined in
with a conga during the finale. Manuel entertained during a karaoke section,
singing and playing his guitar with the lyrics of his songs, ‘Feliz Navidad’
and ‘Shaddap You Face’, displayed on the screen behind him, whilst Polly sang ‘La
Vida Loca’, complete with lyrics so that the audience could join in.
No show with Basil would
be complete without his silly walks and reference to the Germans and there was
lots of ‘Que?’ from Manuel whilst the banter from Sybil to her husband, reflected
the wonderful Prunella Scales who played Basil’s wife in the hit TV series.
This was a very enjoyable evening
and the cast did a stellar job at entertaining and encapsulating the characters
from the TV series. It was funny from start to finish and I don’t think the
audience (or myself) really knew what sort of evening they were in for but it
was a great success; there was plenty of audience participation and involvement
with the cast who were ‘fawtless’!
Set up in 1999 to create fresh
and vibrant small scale theatre, Gambolling Arena Theatre Company has delivered
performances across UK and Europe. They’ll be back at Oak Theatre on 6th
November 2027 with Mama Mia, The Party which is not to be missed.
More details about the company and
future events may be found at https://www.gambollingarenatheatre.co.uk
Reviewer: Anne Pritchard
On: 24th October 2026
