Review Monty Python's Spamalot
Tom Goodhand gets down to The Grand to check out the musical "lovingly ripped off from" Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Pic credit: Eric Richmond
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Monty Python were comedy geniuses. There is little question of that fact, and their two full length feature films, Holy Grail and Life of Brian, are hilarious, subversive British comedies.
Spamalot isn’t merely based on Holy Grail, it takes huge great chunks of it and repeats it verbatim. This is no criticism. There are scenes in Holy Grail which are more-or-less impossible not to laugh at, and when hammed (or should that be spammed) up and repeated they become, if anything, funnier for the expectation of hearing them.
The big fear for Spamalot was that the new scenes, songs and actors would not be able to live up to the mighty weight of their inspiration and fall flat among such great material. And while the new elements of the play certainly lack a little of the punch of the classic film moments, the writers (John Du Prez and original Python Eric Idle) get around this by throwing in scenes and catchphrases from classic Python sketches, so we get fish slapping, we get the Finland song and, of course, we get spam. And we get lots of songs, big, silly songs which are glorious pastiches of classic Broadway musicals, done lovingly and to great effect. We especially enjoy ‘The Song That Goes Like This’ (including a couple of dramatic key changes) and an extended take on ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’.
The best bits, of course, are scenes taken pretty much verbatim from the original film. The insulting French guards (“I fart in your general direction”), the Black Knight (who insists that losing both arms is “just a flesh wound”) and the Knights Who Say “Ni” are as brilliant as they are in the film and bring roars of laughter imminently before and after each line.
The actors do themselves proud too, especially comedian Marcus Brigstocke in the lead role of King Arthur (read an interview with him about the role here), whose singing voice holds its own among the other actors who clearly come with more musical and theatrical experience.
Fans of Python will love this, if for nothing else than the retelling of their favourite jokes, and those who are yet to experience the delight of the film of the Holy Grail should find this a great introduction.
Spamalot runs at Leeds Grand until Saturday 17th July. Box office: 0844 848 2706
Posted on Friday 16th July 2010
Grand Theatre & Opera House
46 New Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NZ
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