John Cleese: 'We've kept the best bits of Fawlty Towers in stage show'

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Adapted by the original Basil Fawlty himself, John Cleese, the show is a combination of his three favourite episodes: The Germans, Communication Problems and The Hotel Inspector – which he fondly dubbed the “Bernard Cribbins episode”.

At a special preview, the Monty Python alumni made it clear that the stories had not been updated in any way since the series’ first run, laughing “there’s been too much change in the world".

But, Cleese caveated, to the RadioTimes.com and other press, that he isn’t “precious” about the show or its characters and loves to see the actors improvise: “We’ve concentrated on all the best scenes, but the more they perform it the more they’ll relax and start playing with it – and that’s the joy of it.”

This was backed up by Adam Jackson-Smith who plays Basil Fawlty. While admitting that the character ranks among some of the best comic roles ever written, he said: “Obviously we all have Basil Fawlty in our minds, but I am an actor and not an impersonator.

fAWLTY tOWERS STAGE SHOW — Fawlty Towers. Trevor Leighton

“We have tried to come from a place of truth and who the guy is and what makes him tick.”

Although Cleese joked that “the key to Basil is repression – being angry isn’t funny but suppressing anger is".

The other members of the cast, Anna-Jane Casey (Sybil), Hemi Yeroham (Manuel), Victoria Fox (Polly) and Paul Nicholas (The Major), spoke about the legendary nature of the show and its characters – except Yeroham who admitted to never watching an episode before being cast.

"It is so well loved and I grew up watching every single episode," said Fox. While Nicholas added: "It’s great to be a part of something that will hopefully be a big success."

Cleese himself was sure of the show’s future status as a hit (sort of): “It’s going to be tremendous… in June.

He expanded: "Comedy is all about timing and what these guys have to work on is where the audience laugh […] It’s important to have lots of performances before an opening night. The previews start on [4th May] and it is going to be a very sharp learning curve because you just have to take the performance to the audience.”

Previews for the Fawlty Towers play begin tonight, with the official opening night taking place on the 15th, if you want to go see it for yourself, here’s what you need to know.

Buy Fawlty Towers tickets at Ticketmaster

Buy Fawlty Towers tickets at Love Theatre

When and where can I see Fawlty Towers at the West End?

Fawlty Towers will be setting up shop at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue from 4th May to 28th September 2024.

Previews will begin on the 4th and the performances will officially kick off with a press night on 15th May.

To get to the Apollo Theatre, you'll need to head to Piccadilly Circus (on the Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines) or Leicester Square (Piccadilly and Northern lines).