Wednesday 30 September 2009

Faulty Towers, The Dining Expereince - Lowry Theatre (Tour)

Faulty Towers, The Dining Experience
By Interactive Theatre, Austrailia
Reviewer: John Roberts

We've all been there, out for a nice three course meal with the family, things are going well then out of the blue things start to go wrong. All around you mayhem rings out, the manager is running around like a lunatic chasing after his incompetent staff, and it looks like your meal is never going to come from the kitchen.

The question you then ask yourself is do you pay for this kind of service? Well if you found yourself sat in The Lowry Reasurant this past week, or in other Resturants over the past few months the answer may well be a resounding yes, and why I hear you cry? Well the answer is simple, to be throughly entertained that's why!

Interactive Theatre based in Austrailia are currently touring the UK & Europe with Faulty Towers the Dining Experience, based around several episodic moments from the classic TV Series Fawlty Towers, you should know that you are not going to be sitting down to a normal dinner service (much to the anger and bemusement to several of the people who came to see the show!) What lies ahead is 2.5 hours of great food, and hearty laughs and utterlly brilliant performances.

Performed by three actors who are so similar to their TV counterparts its uncany from the lumbersome physicality of Basil played with great gravitas and angst by Michael Davoren, to the schreecy high pitched tones of Cybil performed by Alison Pollard-Mansergh (who is also the company Artistic Director) but the show was stolen by Daley Donelly as the put upon waiter Manuel, who charms his way into the hearts of all the people he interacts with.

The cast move around the restuarnt in a frantic and giddy wirl, interacting with many of the guests, our table found out the more that you interacted with them, the more they interacted back with you, and trust me this is the best way to get the most out of the expereince, although don't think being quiet is going to stop them commenting on you as one highly miserable man found out, when told that unless he cheered up he'd have his face shaven off, much to his dismay but to the whole audiences delight - he truely was a repulsive man!
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The energy put in from the cast is stunning and the action never fails to hit all the right notes, with pitch perfect performance, great food and full on belly laughs and if the laughter and smiles of the audience were anything to go buy then this is a dinner date you will never forget!

Highly Recommended

Faulty Towers tours the uk until Nov - for more info click here
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