Spamalot – the Monty Python West End musical

Posted on January 21, 2008
Filed Under Entertainment

Spamalot, a musical comedy, “lovingly ripped off” from the classic ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ film is a must-see for anyone with an appreciation for the film or West End Theatre productions. The adaptation, directed by Oscar winning director Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Charlie Wilson’s War) premiered on Broadway in February 2005 and made its way over to London’s West End in September 2006, becoming both a critical and financial success.

In addition to ‘The Holy Grail’, Spamalot makes many references to other material in the Python canon, including “The Lumberjack Song”, the Ministry of Silly Walks and Dead Parrot Sketch routines, along with a rendition of the song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from the film ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian’ to name but a few.

Other Broadway works get a nod too, including “The Song That Goes Like This”, a spoof of Andrew Lloyd Webber productions and Broadway power ballads in general; the knights doing dances reminiscent of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and ‘West Side Story’ and the song “You Won’t Succeed (On Broadway)” in parody of ‘The Producers’ and ‘Yentl’.

In April 2007, the cast from the London production and original Python members Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam joined a crowd in Trafalgar Square to become the largest group of people ever to clap together half coconut shells; 5,567 in all, performing a rendition of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”, using the coconut shells to replace the whistle parts. This was part of London’s St George’s Day celebrations last year and was followed by a screening of ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’.

Also last year, it was announced that the London production would solve the problem of replacing Hannah Waddingham, who’s joining the Broadway production, in her role as the Lady of the Lake through a TV talent show in Sweden. The programme, called ‘West End Star’, began airing on Swedish TV channel TV3 last month, with the aim of announcing the winner on 2 February and the winner joining the rest of the cast the following week.

Ultimately the show should appeal to everyone, whether you’re a fan of Python or West End theatre, making Spamalot an ideal production to see with friends or family during London theatre breaks. As Charles Spencer from The Daily Telegraph put it, “It’s a wonderful night and I fart in the general direction of anyone who says otherwise”.