Have you ever been to a restaurant and asked yourself, “I wonder what’s in the soup today?”... Not what flavour is listed on the menu, but what might actually turn up in the bowl?
After being served by 'Faulty Towers The Dining Experience', your syntax, among other things, may readjust.
It’s a rare treat for a rural community like Oakey (150km west of Brisbane) to witness an international show such as 'Faulty Towers The Dining Experience', and what a Mother’s Day delight it was (12 May).
You can expect site-specific small town digs (sorry, Kulpi), OH&S instruction (sorry, crockery) and so many more public service announcements than were ever appropriate – but since the show is only 30 per cent scripted, there isn’t a recipe or remedy that can actually be prescribed.
Amid the ceramic circus, we laughed, we nearly choked and we marveled at the chaos a cast of three, true-to-type thespians can create in real time on a stage that actually is the seating plan.
The food was delicious but hardly the feature – we were there for the outrageous imbibe-ment of the creature-characters that are Basil, Sybil, Manuel… And his pet.
'Faulty Towers The Dining Experience' is outrageous, ingenious, ethnic and anti-anti-Semitic (can an aversion to Germans be taken as pro-Semite?) and a blissful time for all generations, regardless of whether you grew up with 'Fawlty Towers' on the telly or not.
You might learn about The Black Death’s popularity in the Middle Ages, self-flagellation and blame apportionment on a scale appropriate for high-steppers. Animal and vegetable husbandry are other likely points of enlightenment, including a rat reincarnation accusation and fire hydrant misappropriation.
This show is a fabulously executed – but still very much alive – feast for the soul, complete with a garnish of etiquette marinated in flavours of Great Britain herself.
Table manners: eat your heart out.
