REVIEW

Spamalot/The Swan Theatre, Worcester

And now for something completely different…a riotous romp through the Middle Ages as WODS tackled Monty Python in the hit musical Spamalot at the Swan Theatre in Worcester.

The award-winning show is built around the classic 1975 comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail with songs added. So if you remember well-loved gags like: “One day, son, this will all be yours” “What – the curtains?” or “Your mother was a hamster” then this is a show to savour. And even if you don’t, there are plenty more laughs in this evening of non-stop silliness.

The cast buys into it with an undisguised glee. The main players have a lot of stage experience and Chris Holloway gives a regal performance in the central role of King Arthur, rounding up his knights of the Round Table to engage in a quest for the Holy Grail as directed by God, voiced from the heavens by the show’s writer Eric Idle.

The King’s double act with servant Patsy, engagingly played by Chris Hooper, complete with clacking coconut shells instead of horses, is excellent as they encounter increasingly daft obstacles. They’re all present and correct – the disrespectful French guard, the Knights Who Say Ni, the Killer Rabbit, even the Black Knight insisting his missing arm is merely a flesh wound.

There’s strong support from all of Arthur’s knights, particularly James Geary as brave Sir Robin and Andy Gilhooly as Lancelot and Lady of the Lake Sarah Gilhooly gives a terrific star turn performance as a disgruntled diva. The show relies on most of the cast being able to play a number of different roles and this strength in depth is always where WODS excels.

Spamalot runs until Saturday, October 20.

PAUL FRANCIS