John Cleese meets Basil Fawlty in a hilarious promotional video for his brand new show.
The comedy veteran, 84, arrives at the Apollo Theater in London to collect two free tickets for Fawlty Towers: The Play and is greeted by Basil, played by actor Adam Jackson-Smith, who is handling the reception in a typically inimitable style.
John is adapting the legendary sitcom, which he wrote with his co-star and ex-wife Connie Booth and in which he plays the famous hotel manager Basil, for the West End and which launches on May 4.
A new cast will bring the iconic characters back to life, led by Jackson-Smith who will be the first actor to play Basil in an official Fawlty Towers production since John.
And as the exclusive promo shows, he managed to capture the hallmarks of one of British comedy’s most famous creations.
John Cleese (pictured October 2023) meets Basil Fawlty in hilarious promotional video for his brand new stage show
The comedy veteran arrives at London’s Apollo Theater to collect two free tickets for Fawlty Towers: The Play and is greeted by Basil, played by actor Adam Jackson-Smith (pictured), who is running the reception in a typically inimitable style.
He was first seen nudging a theater caller asking if drinks were sold during intermission, before sarcastically suggesting the theater could be “moved to the left” to respond to his needs.
Her impertinence continues when John enters the theater, demanding that she “speak properly” before complaining that giving out free tickets was detrimental to the theater’s finances.
But Basil’s mood quickly changes when John reveals his name, prompting him to turn on the charm by offering the show’s figurehead a number of treats, including an intermission drink, peanuts, a cocktail of shrimp and a bottle of expensive wine.
John respectfully declines the offer, admitting that he just wants to see the show, turning to the camera and saying, “I heard it’s very, very funny.”
Fawlty Towers: The Play is a two-hour production based on three classic television episodes: The Hotel Inspector and The Germans from series one and Communication Problems from series two.
Speaking about the show’s return to the West End, John said: “What a pleasure to bring Fawlty Towers to the West End for the first time – almost 50 years after the show was first recorded in December 1974.
“We have been involved in the casting process for some time, constantly reminding ourselves of the wealth of acting talent we have in Britain – sorting the very, very, very good from the simply very, very good.
“Finally, we have assembled a group of top-notch comedy actors who will perform the show at the Apollo Theater on Shaftesbury Avenue.
A new cast will bring the iconic characters back to life, led by Jackson-Smith who will be the first actor to play Basil in an official production of Fawlty Towers since John
Fawlty Towers: The Play is a two-hour production based on three classic television episodes: The Hotel Inspector and The Germans from series one and Communication Problems from series two.
“I adapted three of my favorite episodes for the stage and I wrote a huge finale, which will bring together the endings of the three episodes.
“So here we are from Torquay, through the old BBC Television Centre, to the West End. I hope some of you will come to the Apollo to laugh together. And laugh. And laugh.’
The iconic comedy ran from 1975 to 1979 and is widely considered one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.
It centered on the fictional dysfunctional Fawlty Towers hotel in the seaside town of Torquay, Devon, owned and managed by Basil whose crude and abrupt style led to several collapses.
The sitcom also starred Prunella Scales as his overbearing wife Sybil and Andrew Sachs as the hapless Spanish waiter Manuel.
- Tickets for Fawlty Towers: The Play are on sale at FawltyTowersWestend.com
