Fans of all things Fawlty, rejoice! You have a Melbourne International Comedy Festival performance to sate your every desire, Faulty Towers The Dining Experience. It’s a Faulty nerd’s best friend and one of the best possible gifts a person can give.
Held at The Aegean Greek restaurant on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, the dining experience takes you on a journey of snippets through some of Fawlty Towers’ best shenanigans.
I ventured down to the show with my dad. I wondered who the crowd would consist of, do the kids these days even know the joy that is Fawlty Towers? I was pleasantly surprised to find three things. One, the die hards were there. Two, they had brought their kids to experience the joy. There was a healthy crop of younger vintage participants.
The two hour performance takes you on a three course feast through the Fawlty Towers repertoire. Participation is a part of the experience here. The very talented cast immerses you the faulty plot and you become their muse. Expect chaos from start to finish as seemingly everything goes wrong. I won’t spoil too much for you but don’t go in expecting standard dining and fine service.
Basil remains the rudest man you’ll ever meet, but thankfully he’s still terrified of his wife, Sybil. On the day, Manuel stole the show for me. In many ways he was always my favourite character and endears you to him like only Manuel can.
Half of the joy of Fawlty Towers for me was the way it enables generations to bond. The gags remain timeless. I don’t know if it’s just me getting older but I feel like they simply don’t make productions like this anymore!
Faulty Towers The Dining Experience runs for a limited season throughout the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. If you haven’t considering it let me whole heartedly recommend it to you!
– Rukmal
Managing Director of The Plus Ones, Rukmal lives and breathes events.
