Monty Python’s Spamalot
Based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot is a curious hybrid of Arthurian legend and adult pantomime. It’s bright, bold and colourful, performed with gusto and tongue-in-cheek humour by a strong cast.
Marcus Brigstocke (King Arthur) and Todd Carty (Patsy) in Monty Python's Spamalot at the Theatre Royal, Brighton Photo: Manuel Harlan
Comedian Marcus Brigstocke plays King Arthur, looking for knights to join his quest for the Holy Grail. His sidekick, Patsy, played by a Baldrick-like Todd Carty, comes straight out of Aristophanes, a mocking, much put upon foil to his square-jawed master.
Jodie Prenger, winner of BBC talent show I’d Do Anything, plays the Lady of the Lake as a Shirley Basseyesque diva whose character is constantly trying to steal the limelight. She belts out the showstoppers with admirable lung capacity.
The show’s scatological humour, slightly over-egged campness and caricatures of the French will not be to everyone’s tastes. But suspend your PC impulse, and it becomes a good-spirited, jovial affair, English to its core, with some classic set pieces.
These include the hilarious scene in which a knight continues to square up in a swordfight even though his limbs are being lopped off, and plague corpses protesting they still aren’t dead yet. Brigstocke can hardly stop corpsing at points, and that’s infectious.
The plot loses its way a bit and some more of Python’s wit would have been welcome. But the choreography is proficient, the set, vivid and the laughs plentiful. This show has a high feel-good factor and is the perfect antidote to winter austerity.
Production information
- By:
- book, lyrics and music by Eric Idle, composed by John Du Prez
- Management:
- Howard Panter for The Ambassador Theatre Group and Bill Kenwright
- Cast:
- Steven Pacey, Todd Carty, Bonnie Langford
- Director:
- Christopher Luscombe
- Design:
- Hugh Durrant
- Lighting:
- Nick Richings
- Choreography:
- Jenny Arnold
- Website:
- www.spamalotontour.co.uk
Production information can change over the run of the show.
Run sheet
- Churchill Bromley
- June 29-July 3 2010
- Opera House Manchester
- July 5-10 2010
- Grand and Opera House Leeds
- July 12-17 2010
- Theatre Royal Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- July 19-24 2010
- Mayflower Southampton
- July 26-31 2010
- Regent Stoke-on-Trent
- August 2- 7 2010
- Empire Liverpool
- August 9-14 2010
- His Majesty's Aberdeen
- August 16-21 2010
- Wales Millennium Centre, Donald Gordon Cardiff
- August 23-28 2010
- Lyceum Sheffield
- September 6-11 2010
- Hippodrome Bristol
- September 13-18 2010
- New Victoria Woking
- September 20-25 2010
- Royal and Derngate, Derngate Northampton
- September 27-October 2 2010
- Theatre Royal Norwich
- October 4- 9 2010
- Empire Sunderland
- October 11-16 2010
- Playhouse Edinburgh
- October 18-23 2010
- New Oxford
- October 25-30 2010
- Princess Torquay
- November 1- 6 2010
- Swan High Wycombe
- November 8-13 2010
- Theatre Royal Bath
- November 15-20 2010
- Theatre Royal York
- November 22-27 2010
- Milton Keynes Theatre Milton Keynes
- November 29-December 4 2010
- New Alexandra Birmingham
- December 6 2010-January 1 2011
- Venue Cymru Llandudno
- January 17-22 2011
- Cliffs Pavilion Southend-on-Sea
- January 24-29 2011
- Theatre Royal Plymouth
- January 31-February 5 2011
- Palace Manchester
- February 7-12 2011
- Grand Swansea
- February 14-19 2011
- Corn Exchange Cambridge
- February 21-26 2011
- Empire Sunderland
- February 28-March 5 2011
- Regent Ipswich
- March 7-12 2011
- Alhambra Bradford
- March 14-19 2011
- Congress Eastbourne
- March 21-26 2011
- Waterside Aylesbury
- March 28-April 2 2011
- Orchard Dartford
- April 4- 9 2011
- De Montfort Hall Leicester
- April 11-16 2011
- Grand Blackpool
- April 18-23 2011
- Grand Wolverhampton
- April 25-30 2011
- New Hull
- May 2- 7 2011
- Grand Opera House Belfast
- May 16-21 2011
- Mayflower Southampton
- June 6-11 2011
- Theatre Royal Brighton
- December 15 2011-January 14
- Empire Liverpool
- January 16-21
- New Oxford
- January 23-28
- Auditorium Grimsby
- January 30-February 4
- New Victoria Woking
- February 6-11
- Princess Torquay
- February 13-18
- Grand Opera House York
- February 20-25
- Regent Stoke-on-Trent
- February 27-March 3
- King's Glasgow
- March 12-17
- Playhouse Edinburgh
- March 19-24
- New Alexandra Birmingham
- March 26-31
- Richmond Theatre Richmond-upon-Thames
- April 2- 7
- Waterside Aylesbury
- April 9-14
- Empire Sunderland
- April 16-21
- Hippodrome Bristol
- April 23-28
- Churchill Bromley
- April 30-May 5
- Corn Exchange Cambridge
- May 7-12
- Hall for Cornwall Truro
- May 14-19
- Opera House Manchester
- May 21-26
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