Wilma’s Rating ****
Bonnie Langford took a break from playing the Lady of the Lake last year to go on tour with the Dolly Parton musical 9 to 5. But now, she’s back in her swamp at the Playhouse theatre which is the perfect sized home for the Monty Python inspired musical.
Spamalot tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the round table, who have been given a quest by god (Eric Idle via video projection), the find the holy grail. During their travels they come across well loved Python characters such as the French, the Knights who say Ni and a Schwubbery.
The wonderful thing about Spamalot is that cast members keep coming back, showing that not only is it a wonderful show to watch, but must also be nice to work on. Since my last visit to see the show Kit Orton has returned in the role of Lancelot and Samuel Homes (who played Sir Robin in the 2010 tour) is now back, playing Bedevere. Not to forget Bonnie Langford’s return as the Lady of the Lake.
In the show I went to see, Chris Jenkins was understudying the role of Sir Galahad and did a wonderful job. The whole cast performed perfectly despite the apparent lack of air conditioning that night, which caused a very sweaty mess on stage.
I have seen Spamalot more times than any other show I’ve seen and it really never loses its humour. It is a good old fashioned English musical, which given some of the other shows coming is and out of the west end recently, is much deserved.
Take a look at my video interview with Bonnie Langford, filmed last year when Spamalot made its triumphant return to the West End!