REVIEW: Spamalot, KLODS, St George's Guildhall, King's Lynn
The Pythonesque world of Spamalot is playing at what surely should be temporarily named as King (Arthur) Street as it makes everyone look on the bright side of life.
The musical version of the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail has a dafter plot than even most other musicals can match and was delivered with gusto by a large cast.
Rob Stevens lends the right air of authority as King Arthur, followed everywhere by Patsy (Josh Chilvers) his trusty servant and coconut-shell carrier.
Sir Lancelot, the Homicidally Brave (who turns out to have a whole other life!) is Tom Whybrown, Sir Robin, the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot, is Ian Gooda, Sir Galahad, who begins life as the truculent Dennis, is Chris Hiam and Josh Elms is Sir Bedevere, the Strangely Flatulent (who also does a nice turn as the Knight Who Says Ni).
Emily Blake is The Lady of the Lake, a diva who worries she is spending too much time off stage, is great and really shows off her singing chops with some suitably over-the-top numbers such as Whatever Happened To My Part and The Song That Goes Like This.
Excellent French taunting too from Kieren Davies and his crew in one of the funniest scenes.
Spamalot is great fun and I really enjoyed it. Director Hayley Dennis really keeps it hurtling along at a breakneck speed.
It is, as it is at pains to point out, a Broadway musical, or more accurately a parody of a Broadway musical, which does make it a) rather difficult to squeeze on to the Guildhall stage (how do you launch a cow by catapault convincingly) and b) means perhaps some of its references get a little lost in translation. The decidedly un-PC song You Won't Succeed On Broadway (a plea for the recruitment of Jews to the cast) probably is more at home in Manhattan than West Norfolk.
Well worth seeing though. The audience was on the low side last night so let's hope it does well over the weekend, it deserves to.
The show is on tonight and tomorrow night at 7.30 with a 2.30pm matinee too tomorrow.
Mark Leslie
