Who doesn’t love a night at the Theatre? We were recently invited to attend the opening night of Spamalot at The Orchard Dartford which is a brand-new production from Selladoor Productions and Mercury Theatre Colchester.
Of course, Spamalot is a re-telling of the hugely successful 1975 Monty Python and the Holy Grail film which sees King Arthur collecting a band of misfits together to create his Knights of the Round Table and taking on a quest from God (or at least a large foot that appears from the heavens) to seek the Holy Grail.
The show was the winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best New Musical while it was performed in the West End before going on tour. Spamalot opened on 11 September 2017 at Blackpool Opera House before embarking on its UK tour for 2017/2018. The show is written by English comedian, actor, voice actor, author, singer-songwriter, musician, writer and comedic composer and Python legend, Eric Idle.
The story follows the intrepid (somewhat luckless) Knights and their King all around Britain encountering all manner of ridiculous people and situations including killer rabbits, dancing nuns and ferocious Frenchmen who have an extraordinary talent for insults. Spamalot is a riotously camp comedy which simply gets more and more outrageous scene by scene.
Having seen Spamalot in the West End a good few years ago, Vlad was interested to see the changes which had been made to the production which included tongue-in-cheek current affairs spoofs, mentions of Dartford and more of a focus on the love story between Prince Herbert and Lancelot. The Dartford performance certainly rivals the original in terms of production and entertainment value.
The overall production was top quality with fantastic scenery, props, costumes, effects and very talented musicians which really brought the show to life. I found it particularly hilarious when the cast tramped through the stalls and invited the audience to participate in the storytelling.
The company includes; Bob Harms, Sarah Harlington, Marc Akinfolarin, Norton James, Matthew Pennington and Gleanne Purcell-Brown. Spamalot is directed by Daniel Buckroyd, designed by Sara Perks with choreography from Ashley Nottingham. Lighting is designed by David Kidd and sound by Chris Bogg.
If you are a Monty Python fan and you want to relive all the best bits of the movie, “It’s only a scratch” comes to mind, then this show really is a must-see. Spamalot will be in Dartford until Saturday 28 April, so don’t miss out, book your ticket now! Check out the trailer below.
I have heard so many good things about this show, it looks brilliant. Will keep an eye out for if it moves a little closer this way! 🙂
This looks like a very good play one of witch me and my Husband would love to go see.
Sounds like a wonerful night out.The costumes are wondeful.
This looks like so much fun, I would love to see Spamalot live
We love heading to the theatre and often do with our kids and these photos of Spamalot and the storyline is making us want to go see this show live as well.
I remember seeing Spamalot when it was on in London and I absolutely loved it x
I love Spamalot, I saw it in the West End years ago with my son and husband and it was so much fun!