Exit 22 Productions presents Fawlty Towers Feb. 8–11 at 7:30 p.m. with a 2 p.m. matinee on Feb. 11. at the BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. Tickets: $22/$25/$10 and available at tickets.capilanou.ca or by calling (604) 990-7810.
Get ready to feel offended, as everyone’s favourite British sitcom and rude hotel owner are coming to our shores in February.
Exit 22 Productions is exercising its comedic chops with Fawlty Towers, and director Bob Frazer couldn’t be more excited to stage a show about the best-loved bad hotel in the world.
“Without a doubt the best thing about the original show was the combination of ridiculous situations and iconic characters,” says Frazer. “Who can forget Basil, Sybil, Manuel, Polly and the Major? Basil was constantly creating hilarious situations that I still laugh at today.”
Fresh from directing Othello with Bard on the Beach this past season, Frazer has checked into Fawlty Towers and prepped a diverse cast of second and third year students from the Acting for Stage and Screen and Musical Theatre programs at Capilano University.
All the beloved Fawlty characters audiences have come to love will be on the BlueShore stage: manic Basil, his wife Sybil, the poor mistreated Manuel, calm and capable Polly – and of course a steady stream of harshly abused guests.
Frazer’s intent is to have John Cleese and Connie Booth’s famous TV sitcom jump seamlessly from screen to stage. Each show features two complete scripts: “A Touch of Class” and “Psychiatrist” with subtle references snuck in for the keen-eyed Fawlty fan.
Have no fear, this is the Fawlty Towers everyone knows and loves: frantic pace, saucy banter and snooty wisecracks.
“A Touch of Class” is of course the pilot episode of Fawlty Towers. Hilarity ensues when hapless Basil checks in to Fawlty Towers a man who he thinks is a Lord but is really a trickster who attempts to steal his collection of rare coins. Basil bends over backwards to please his ‘upstanding’ guest, to the exclusion of other guests.
“The script is the exact script from the TV show,” promises Frazer. “We’ve also added in little moments from other episodes that fans will remember. During scene changes, the audience will get to watch favourite moments from their favourite episodes.”
Argyle secondary grad and third-year CapU stage and screen student Meghan Drew steps into the role of Raylene Miles, an Australian with a sense of humour.
“Raylene is very sweet but when she gets provoked and has had enough, I just want people to come watch it and find out,” says Drew. “It’s very funny. I think she brings some comic relief.”
To create an Australian accent, Drew went on a dialects website and found a tutorial that matched a Brisbane accent.
“Every few days I listen to it and try to imitate it so I can get the vowels down. It’s really hard though,” she admits.
Drew’s physical skills were put to the test last November when she performed in CapU’s production of A Christmas Carol. The director took the Dickens classic and turned it on its head, in an inventive circus adaptation.
“It was really physical, so basically everyone was on stage for the whole time and everyone was doing cartwheels and somersaults,” recalls Drew.
With three years of acting training at CapU under her belt, Drew says she has come out on the other side with more confidence and praises the program’s instructors. Along with acting training, Drew learned invaluable skills including set etiquette and how to be professional.
In preparing for Fawlty Towers, Drew and Frazer report that the entire cast has been laughing all the way through the one-month rehearsal period.
“We laughed hard and we’ve worked hard. I think it’s always an exciting thing to watch the new performers of tomorrow develop their craft. It’s been a delight to direct this show,” says Frazer.
