Something big is happening in London’s theatre land. One of Hollywoods most famous little men has taken on the role of Patsy in Monty Python’s musical SPAMALOT. Warwick Davis, who many of our readers will know as Wicket from ‘Return of the Jedi’, the protagonist in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Willow’, and playing a larger than life version of himself in ‘Life’s too Short’ penned by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, has made his west end debut, and he doesn’t disappoint.
Starring alongside Les Dennis who plays King Arthur, Warwick throws himself into the role and gives it 110%. The comedy pairing of these two was already tested in ‘Life’s too Short’, and proving it wasn’t a one off, they had the audience roaring with laughter at The Playhouse Theatre, an intimate venue which allowed for an almost personal experience of the play. Feeling closer to the cast, many of the audience felt comfortable enough to sing along and really got into the spirit of the show. It seemed a few of the audience had seen the show before, and this is the beauty of Spamalot, in that they allow for improvisation and current topical gags that are always changing. The cast even laughed at each other and Les Dennis had to stop himself from cracking up with laughter on more than one occasion, which adds to the fun and freedom of the show. The production lasts around two hours, including interval, which kept the audience fresh and the show never feels like it drags at all.
The songs, some old and many new are sure to get stuck in your head and sung for days after the you’ve seen the show.
Adding to the impeccable comedy timing and great banter between Les and Warwick, was a show stopping performance by Bonnie Langford as the lady of the lake, proving she’s still got it, in abundance. With an amazingly strong singing voice and a figure most of the younger cast would die for, she pretty much stole the show. The highlight being her duet with Chris Jenkins who played Sir Galahad, singing ‘a song that goes like this’ it is like every cheesy theatre musical duet and Disney song rolled into one, but delivered with such heart and passion, yet still remains totally hilarious.
The highlight of the show was Warwick singing a solo of “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life”. It went down an absolute storm with the audience who were singing and laughing along. What surprised us all is that Warwick delivered the number pitch perfect and his timing was bang on as always. Maybe this little guy has a big big future ahead of him in comedy theatre. Make sure you catch Warwick in his limited run, which in our opinion, would be criminal if it didn’t get extended.
MORE INFO:
http://www.playhousetheatrelondon.com/
http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com/
