Fawlty Towers loyal to the original with a superb set

There’s a foyer, back office, pub, restaurant, kitchen — even an upstairs bedroom.

The set designers have to be commended for this effort. It is loyal to the original and cleverly squeezed onto the tiny stage, thus eliminating the need for set changes. And that proved to be crucial for this fast paced rollercoaster ride of a production.

Philip McIntosh, with the help of Carol Birch, came up with the concept but a large team of designers, painters, decorators and construction workers made it happen.

Three episodes of Fawlty Towers were re-enacted by the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society and excellently directed by Nicola Wilkinson; namely The Hotel Inspectors, Communication Problems and Basil the Rat.

Bruce Barritt (Not the Um Um Players) looked surprisingly similar to Basil Fawlty with his dyed brown hair and moustache. Played in the original by Monty Python legend John Cleese, these were big shoes to fill but Barritt did a fantastic job.

Aside from his towering stature and gangly limbs, Barritt got the exaggerated mannerisms pretty close to the original and when he lost his cool, his voice broke high — just like Basil’s.

Bermudian burr

Barritt’s British accent started off brilliantly but began to drift throughout the night back into a Bermudian burr — he even said “my bie” at one point. While the witty lines must be credited to the original writers, Barritt delivered them with gusto. The nicknames he gave his wife such as “sabre-toothed tart” and “my little nest of vipers” tripped off the tongue.

Barritt didn’t quite go as overboard as Cleese, who let go of all decorum as he descended into utter chaos and insanity. That is hard to emulate.

Comedy timing by all of the actors might have been more polished — excellent lines fell a little flat on more than one occasion.

But Laura Bardgett hit the mark with her performance of Basil’s long-suffering wife Sybil. She was the closest to the original than any of the other cast members, her nonchalance and lazy attitude mixed with bitter resentment towards Basil.

When I first heard that Jym Brier was to play waiter and general dog’s body Manuel, I scratched my head in confusion because he looks nothing like the original. But he pulled off the hunched shuffle and cowering mannerisms so well. Along with his greased hair, he actually looked just the part. His faltering Spanish accent was okay but not quite up there with Andrew Sachs from the original, who milked it to great comedic effect.

Rebecca Payne echoed the sweet, sardonic tones of Connie Booth’s Polly but could have benefited a little more punch in her delivery.

Characters worthy of mention were Jo Shane, unrecognizable as the detestable Mrs. Richardson and Paul McCoy who made a convincingly senile Major.

The three episodes complemented each other well as each character got to hog the limelight separately.

There wasn’t as much violence in this show as there could have been. While Manuel got slapped by a spoon on the forehead, there was no hint of physical contact during the fake punching and kicking — it would have been funnier if there had been.

The show sold out quickly and it seems a shame that more people could not have seen it, but all good things have their limitations. The BMDS is self-sufficient and its only sources of income are membership fees ticket sales, and bar profits. Paying members as well as cast and crew have priority over the first tickets.

Due to the anticipated popularity of Fawlty Towers, three extra shows were added to the usual nine, bringing the total to 12. But there are only so many extra shows the organization can put on when its entire cast and crew are volunteers with jobs and other commitments.

Vice president Jenn Osmond said: “We do regret that more of the public will not be able to see the show. However, given the nature of our organization, our resources and options are limited. I’m sure if we were a professional theatre company, paying cast and crew to extend the run would be possible.”

For those lucky enough to see it, the show was a knockout success.