John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers opens tonight, Sydney

The world premiere of John Cleese’s live production of Fawlty Towers opens this evening at Sydney’s Roslyn Packer theatre for a limited four week season with an all Australian cast.

Stephen Hall stars as Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers – Live on Stage with Blazey Best as his wife Sybil, Syd Brisbane as Manuel and Aimee Horne as Polly.

Also in the cast are Ana Marina Belo, Paul Bertram, Paul Denny, Andrew Johnston, Sarah Jane Kelly, Deborah Kennedy, Anna Lee, John Shearman, Emily Thomas, John Voce, and David John Watton.

The production will play in Sydney until September 18 ahead of seasons in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and New Zealand.
The original television series was first broadcast on BBC Two in the UK in 1975 and is based on a real-life hotel owner Donald Sinclair from Torquay, England. The Monty Python team stayed at his Gleneagles Hotel and Cleese was fascinated by his rude behaviour.

Manic, snobbish, condescending, sycophantic and rude, Basil Fawlty is without doubt one of the funniest, most iconic and most memorable British comedy characters ever written.

Fawlty Towers – Live on Stage is presented by Michael Coppel and Philip McIntyre in association with Louise Withers.

Check out these great images from the show thanks to photographer James Morgan.