As a huge fan of the Monty Python films, I was delighted to be able to review the latest version of Eric Idle’s Spamalot. The successful stage version of the film ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’.

In this version Les Dennis stared as King Arthur, Warwick Davis plays his horse Patsy and Bonnie Langford is the Lady of the Lake. It didn’t quite live up to my high expectations but it was still a great night out. The play steals a lot of the great lines and scenes from the original film and these were as funny as ever.

The songs, dancing and choreography are all fantastic and come across even better on stage. But the show sometimes felt too much like a pantomime. I expected this to be the case to some extent but it went too far. The fourth wall was broken too many times.

I wasn’t a fan of Dennis’s portrayal of Arthur. The character felt unnecessarily dumbed down and his performance was a bit unrealistic. One of the great jokes of the film is that nobody obeys King Arthur and he’s frequently left frustrated and outwitted much to the audiences delight. King Arthur’s exasperation and annoyance didn’t quite come across as well on the stage and therefore wasn’t as satisfying for the audience.

On the plus side Warwick Davis was excellent and very funny as Patsy and Bonnie Langford was good as the self-centered Lady of the Lake. I felt Arthur’s knights lacked a strong enough identity.

Overall the play was fun and you’ll have a good night out particularly if you never saw the original film

3/5

Spamalot is on at the Playhouse theatre until February 2014

http://www.spamalotwestend.co.uk/home

ATG Tickets- 0844 871 7631