The Faulty Towers Dining Experience

The Faulty Towers Dining Experience | Theatre review

4^th April 2025

4 April 2025

A hoot of a show that blends dining with an immersive theatre performance, The Faulty Towers Dining Experience is a treat for all fans of the 70s sitcom Fawlty Towers. While the food is comparatively mediocre and space is sparse, with ten people seated at each table, the actual performance itself is hilarious and guarantees a fantastic evening out.

There isn’t an official link to the sitcom, but the premise is the same – Basil is a rude, choleric egomaniac who tries to run what he considers a reasonable hotel; his wife, Sybil, is much more competent and tends to boss him around; and Manuel, the waiter, is rather pathetic, but ultimately likeable. The audience is made up of guests in the restaurant, who get to enjoy a three-course meal while watching the trio’s nonsense unfold.

The sketches only loosely follow a through-line; apart from various gags that are maintained throughout the evening, they appear fairly randomly and are in each case broadly based off of the plotlines from the sitcom – and so the guests are taken through a fire drill, a pet rat is lost in the restaurant, and Basil attempts to make some cash by betting on a horse.

The greatest strength of the act is undoubtedly the three performers who imitate the characters immortalised by John Cleese, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs excellently. The way they talk, the mannerisms, everything is practised to perfection – especially impressive considering much of the humour is based on improvising with the audience.

The food itself is nothing special. While the soup and the dessert are nice, the main course is fairly bland, so it’s not exactly a fine dining experience. But this does match the general tone of the show, and considering one is largely here for the comedy, that’s most certainly forgivable.

As such, The Faulty Towers Dining Experience deserves a recommendation. With outstanding quick-witted comedy and some wonderful acting, it’s a fantastic outing that’s a guaranteed laugh – especially for fans of the original.

★★★★★

Michael Higgs
Photo: Rosie Powell

The Faulty Towers Dining Experience is at Theatre from 9^th January until 21^st December 2025. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.