All for one... and free for all!

Monty Python’s Spamalot

Friday 15^th April at De Montfort Hall, Leicester

Cast

King Arthur… Phill Jupitus

Patsy… Todd Carty

The Lady of the Lake… Jessica Martin

Sir Bedevere/Dennis’s Mother/Concorde/Guard… Robin Armstrong

Sir Robin/Mayor… Samuel Holmes

Prince Herbert/Historian/Not Dead Fred/Minstrel… David Langham

Sir Dennis Galahad/The Black Knight/Prince Herbert’s Father… Simon Lipkin

Sir Lancelot/The French Taunter/Knight of Ni/Tim the Enchanter… Graham MacDuff

God… Eric Idle

Ensemble… Philip Catchpole

Ensemble… Rachel Knowles

Ensemble… Kit Orton

Ensemble… Amy Papa

Swing… Tim Bonser

Swing… Paul Bullion

Swing… Persephone Fitzpatrick

I attended this touring production of Spamalot with my fellow Python fan Jake, without knowing a great deal about the show. Of course I had seen 'The Holy Grail' on numerous occassions, but I was unsure how Spamalot would measure up. Fortunately, I was not disappointed.

After some initial furoar upon realising we had arrived at the theatre sans tickets, we took our seats only to notice that the music playing for the overture was the Liberty Bell theme, the opening credits music from Monty Python's Flying Circus, the first of many mythology gags to be found that evening. Most of the joy of the show was to be found watching familiar gags unfurl before your eyes, so much so that you were almost disappointed when they were broken up by unfamiliar musical numbers. Aside from the original Python songs, the only number from the piece I had knowledge of beforehand was the amusingly titled 'You Won't Suceed on Broadway (If You Don't Have Any Jews). While I had enjoyed this number from the original production, I could not see how they would make this work this side of the pond. I was pleasantly surprised to see the number replaced with a ditty entitled 'You Won't Suceed in Showbiz (If You Don't Have a Star)' which featured cameos from the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Susan Boyle. 

And speaking of stars, what of the actual performers? Phill Jupitus puts his own slant on the role of King Arthur (and I'm sure we can forgive his brief moment of corpsing when confronted with the Knights Who Up Until Recently Said 'Ni') while Todd Carty gleefully gives his all to 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' in the expanded role of Patsy, Arthur's trusty manservant. The third 'star', Jessica Martin, has probably the gutsiest voice in the cast, which she uses to great effect in the amusing second act numer 'Whatever Happened to My Part'. Supporting players fill the reminder of the roles effectively, with honourable mention to the closeted Sir Lancelot (Graham MacDuff), the aptly titled Sir Robin the Not So Brave (Samuel Holmes) and a fun little recorded cameo from Eric Idle as God. An amusing evening all around.

Theatre Notes

• Phill Jupitus, whilst most famous for being a team captain on Never Mind the Buzzcocks, also portrayed Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.