Faulty Towers The Dining Experience

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience
Adelaide Fringe Festival 2020. Terrace Ballroom at Stamford Plaza Adelaide. Feb 21 to March 15, 2020

Fawlty Towers was named the "greatest ever British TV sitcom" by the Radio Times. Written John Cleese and Connie Booth and broadcast 1975 and 1979, only 12 episodes were made.

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is based on the original TV series and features its three principal characters, improvised, interactive and played amongst the audience sitting at tables enjoying a three course meal. This immersive experience is played all over the world in countries including Kenya, Antigua, Norway and more. In fact, it is played in 32 counties with over 30 actors to choose from to play the iconic Basil, Sybil and Manuel.

Our performance featured Rob Langston as Basil, Anthony Sottile as Manuel and Rebecca Fortuna as Sybil. They work as a perfect trio, weaving their way in and out of the tables of unsuspecting diners and guiding us through our meal, while interacting perfectly as their famous counterparts.

Their voices, gestures and facial expressions are uncannily spot on and we are immediately taken back to 1975 to 1979 and feel as though we are in the dining room of the original television series (except we are in the Terrace Ballroom of the Stamford Plaza, Adelaide).=

The dining experience starts before we even enter the ballroom (restaurant) with Basil and Manuel at odds trying to serve appetisers. Basil then ushers us in with his typical casual disregard for his guests.

Once seated, the mayhem continues. I can’t give away too much but there are ‘problems’ with the soup, food is casually distributed, some misadventures with crockery, plus Spanish bullfighters, local references, silly walks and of course, the inevitable references to the Germans!

The entire night takes just over two hours with a set 3-course meal which, unlike some dinner theatre meals, was delicious. Food sensitivities are catered for and there is a bar service before and about an hour into the show.

You don’t have to have a knowledge of the TV series to enjoy the experience. My partner has never seen Fawlty Towers and enjoyed it as much as me. In fact, by the end of the night I was exhausted from laughing!

Faulty Towers The Dining Experienceis totally enjoyable from start to finish and a great way to escape the reality of life and just have a good laugh (and meal) for 2 hours!

Highly recommended!

Barry Hill

To read more Adelaide Fringe 2020 reviews click here

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