Faulty Towers the Dining Experience

AS&L in conjuction with Interactive Theatre Australia present for the first time in the UK..."Faulty Towers the Dining Experience". It debuted in Brisbane, Australia on April 24 1997. Since then, thousands of unassuming guests have enjoyed the antics of Basil, Sybil and Manuel in Public Shows, Conferences and Private Functions.

Enter the world of the snobbish, manic Basil; his domineering wife Sybil; and the hopeless but ever-hopeful waiter Manuel. Be one of the steady stream of abused guests. Experience trying to make Manuel understand what it is you want - even asking for an ‘ice bucket’ ends up in your being presented with a ‘nice bucket’, a simple procedure like opening a bottle of wine can become a huge drama, and maybe, just maybe, in the middle of all these events, you might just get some service - Faulty style of course. Everything than can go wrong will - in fact they can be best be described as organised chaos!!

The versatility of the show is tremendous, with the ability to adapt to a huge variety of settings and occasions.

THEMED COMEDY LUNCHEONS AND DINNERS – with options ranging from Roving Performance and Partial Focussed performance, through to Fully Focussed Interactive Show, the team has entertained groups ranging in size from 10 to 750. What about Faulty Towers during dinner, and a band, DJ, comedian or special guest after?

CONFERENCE BREAKERS – when it’s time to break the routine – send in Basil, Sybil and Manuel to tell the crowd the room has been booked for another function, and they’ve got to move. Hilarious when involved with organising the Morning and Afternoon tea.

SERVICE TRAINING – heard of Reverse Psychology? It works!! The team can show example after example how NOT to do things, either working with a trainer, or starting the day with a short Faulty Training session. What about a Faulty Breakfast to kick of the day?

Need a Master of Ceremonies with flair? Basil Faulty (ably assisted by Sybil and Manuel) will ensure the smooth running of your function.

• Weddings

• Cocktail Parties

• Awards Ceremonies

• Golf Days

• Meeting & Greeting delegates as they arrive at functions

The list of possibilities is only limited by imagination!

Faulty Towers - Once, twice, three times the madness!

Testimonials

Edinburgh 2008 Fringe Festival

"Low Down Dine with snobbish, manic Basil; his domineering wife Sybil; and hopelessly confused waiter Manuel. Review Faulty Towers the Dining Experience does exactly what it says on the tin! Located in B'est Restaurant on Drummond Street; Sybil, Basil and Manuel invite you to spend the evening in their dubious company. Various scenes and happenings from the TV series have been lifted into the show - from Basil placing a bet on a horse, to Manuel's pet 'hamster' running amok in the restaurant. However, the actors' ad-libbing and engagement with the audience is even better than the created 'scenes', and it is safe to say the diners entered into the farce with gusto. The actors' impressions of the incredibly well known characters were absolutely uncanny - with special mention going to Basil, whose clipped tones, brusque manner and manic eye movements were so studied - with your eyes closed one might have thought the TV was on in the background. This was a thoroughly entertaining evening, which, for lovers of Fawlty Towers will be as close as you will get to being transported into that hell-hole Torquay hotel. The food was good too, and the ordinary waiters and waitresses dealt with the mayhem surrounding them incredibly well - ducking flying bread rolls, launched across the restaurant by an incompetent Manuel. A price tag of £37.00 seems a little steep, and will probably keep all but the most die-hard fans and moneyed tourists away, but if you can afford it and you loved that most hilarious of sitcoms, head to B'est Restaurant before the run sells out!"

Kathryn Mack Edinburgh Festival 2008

"Why on earth would anyone want to have a Fawlty Towers lunch? The classic 1970s sitcom featured deeply dysfunctional husband and wife hotel managers Basil and Sybil Fawlty, and their hapless Spanish waiter Manuel. Every meal was a disaster, with Basil insulting the guests, Sybil shrieking, Manuel misunderstanding every instruction and incurring Basil’s wrath. Interactive Theatre Australia have developed the Faulty Towers dining experience to transport us back to that 1970s era. There is a sense of nervousness and anticipation as the audience wait outside the B’est Restaurant in Drummond Street. Instead of filing into the dining room, the characters come out to greet us, and treat us to our first taste of the mayhem that follows. There’s a missing seating plan, Manuel is trying to serve us peanuts, Sybil is nagging both Manuel and Basil, and Basil is eyeballing the guests. Nigel Bell gives a perfect interpretation of the angst-ridden Basil. He has all the facial expressions, changes in vocal pitch and physical presence of John Cleese. Alison Pollard-Mansergh is wonderful as Sybil, nagging Basil and then chatting to the audience and on the phone. Tony Nixon seems to have become Manuel, and his misinterpretations of instructions are even funnier in real life than they were on screen. The show covers some familiar themes from the tv show, including Basil betting and Manuel’s pet. But most of the real laugh out loud moments come from the characters interacting with the audience. For example, as Manuel can’t quite reach my corner seat to serve the soup, he pops under the table and reappears at my knees. Basil and Manuel’s efforts to get wine bottles open in various ways give rise to some great physical comedy, and, amazingly, in the midst of all this we do get our food and wine, mostly all in one piece. With the restaurant setting it is sometimes difficult to see all of the action, but the cast work well to keep things moving around the room. The show might not work so well if you’re not familiar with the original tv series, but if you are, you’ll love it. Equally, had the cast not been so convincing this experience could have been tedious rather than entertaining. Finding yourself at the sharp end of Basil’s tounge for having your elbows on the table, being gently patronised by Sybil while Manuel serves a roll by throwing it at you is marvelous fun, and to be highly recommended."

By Liam Rudden

"FAULTY TOWERS: THE DINING EXPERIENCE B'est, Drummond Street 2008 ***** BULLIED, badgered and belittled. Welcome to the Basil Faulty school of customer service – and yes the name is spelled correctly. My dining companion was probably too young to really appreciate the genius of BBC 2's classic sitcom Fawlty Towers - or was until Monday, when he received a baptism of fire – Faulty Towers The Dining Experience, at B'est on Drummond Street. You've heard of pre-theatre dining? Well imagine enjoying a meal during the performance and you'll get the gist of this hilarious evening from the Interactive Theatre Australia. The action starts in the lane by the side of the restaurant. Tonight is a sell-out already. That's 75 covers. And everyone is nervously waiting to be seated. The performance part of the evening starts at 8pm, but get there 15 minutes early for the full effect. The amuse bouche, a peanut, yes, a single peanut served by Manuel from a silver platter under the ever-watchful eye of Basil, is dispensed at this point. Then it is time for Basil to reveal the seating plan for dinner. A three-course affair, which, despite the haphazard nature of Faulty Towers, is actually a very presentable affair – but more of that later. As Manuel guides individual parties to their tables, Basil continues to abuse and amuse in equal measure. Indeed. Nigel Bell makes a scarily authentic Cleese-esque host. Once inside, the cast of three ensure everyone is seated, if not comfortably, properly: "Elbows . . ." snaps Basil at one middle-aged lady who has inadvertently forgotten her manners, much to the amusement of everyone else. By the end of the evening everyone will have been the target of Basil's smouldering disdain at some point. As for the rest of team, well, hear Alison Pollard-Mansergh screeching from the kitchen and you'll swear that Prunella Scales has come on board for the night. And then there's Manuel, aka the diminutive Tony Nixon, who happily clambers onto a table and stands there when ordered to wait on a table by Sybil."

Jonathan Trew - Scottish Daily Record 15/08/08

"Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience B'est Restaurant, Edinburgh, Mon, Aug 11 **** RUDE waiting staff, a rat in the kitchen and unidentified floating objects in the soup usually mean a meal from Hell but they also add up to an unforgettable show at the Fringe. A tribute to the much-loved Seventies sitcom, the live version of Faulty Towers may have a slightly different spelling to the TV programme but it contains all the characters and gaffes that made the series such a classic. The action takes place in B'est restaurant, where the audience are served a meal by Aussie actors playing Basil, his domineering wife Sybil and the long-suffering waiter Manuel who, as we all know, comes from Barcelona. There is a loose plot involving a long-tailed Siberian hamster and Basil's doomed attempts to place a bet, but most of the laughs come from the chaotic audience interaction. A continually furious Basil stalks the restaurant ordering diners to get their elbows off the table while Sybil occasionally takes a break from haranguing her husband to patronise the punters. Meanwhile, Manuel is clambering under the tables and emerging with a puzzled look and a pair of frilly knickers. Nigel Bell is uncanny as Basil. Pompous but simultaneously bristling with frustrated rage, he bullies Manuel just as mercilessly as his wife nags him. Despite the sounds of plates smashing in the kitchen and Basil's increasingly violent pep talks with Manuel, they manage to serve a three-course meal to the audience over the two-hour duration of the show. It is not the most relaxing meal you will ever have but it is a memorable one. In one episode of the TV series, Basil deals with an unusually happy guest and announces, "A satisfied customer. We should have him stuffed." Faulty Towers left me satisfied but I'll pass on the stuffing. Faulty Towers is at B'est, Drummond Street, Edinburgh, until August 24, various times."

Ron Bingham - 07/08/08 Edinburgh Fringe

"This was one of the most madcap and fun packed dining experiences I can recall. I laughed so hard my jaw is aching. The combination of a very nice three course lunch and very close-up floor show is one that I find hard to fault. Sure, the limitations of performing around the tables in a restaurant mean that at some points in the show, all the action may be happening at the other end of the room. Of course, the alternative is having them right in front of you removing your cutlery or giving you someone else’s dishes. And having Basil stare at you for keeping your elbows on the table is a very scary experience, let me tell you. The show starts before we enter the restaurant and the seating is part of our introduction to the afternoon (or night if you are in for dinner). Chaos and mayhem follow as everything disastrous you could imagine taking place will somehow occur, and a few things you certainly wouldn’t imagine will also jump out at you. To tell too much would be to give away some of the magic. Suffice to say, this was one of the most entertaining lunches I can recall and for fans of Fawlty Towers, is a must see experience. I did see a couple of youngsters who looked bemused and can only assume their comedy education has been lacking. The cast handled the whole affair with a timing and flair that can only come with extended planning, rehearsal and a lot of performances. These people are at the top of their game and this is one of the must-see shows at Edinburgh (or any of the other places round the UK they are performing for the next month. They almost had a residency in London but it fell through so if there are any London restauranters reading this….). The food is tasty as well."