Arguably the best television comedy ever written is finally adapted for the stage and it’s just what everyone needs and wants.

It can be high-risk bringing back some of the UK’s most loved characters but with John Cleese involved adapting the script and director Caroline Jay Ranger, with previous experience of transferring Only Fools and Horses into the well-loved musical, it’s a delight from start to finish.

All the characters you’d expect to see are featured – in fact it’s a sixteen strong cast – and everyone is portrayed exquisitely. The actors impersonate the well-known roles that have become national treasures, mimicking the television series as much as possible, which is the perfect decision.

There were famously only ever twelve episodes written back in the seventies and three of them are amalgamated here into a two hour feast. Fire drills, rats, communication problems, moose heads, horse bets and of course Germans all appear and there are many of the classic lines and catchphrases that the audience laugh at before any punchline even needs to be uttered.

Liz Ascroft’s set and costume design stays close to the traditional style, transforming the Apollo Theatre stage into a dated Torquay hotel, complete with restaurant, reception desk and guest bedroom. Caroline Jay Ranger’s direction is slick and fast-paced, although the odd choice of sectioning items with the theme music unfortunately makes the piece a little disjointed.

Anna-Jane Casey is the perfect Sybil Fawlty, flawlessly imitating her cackling laugh but it’s Adam Jackson-Smith’s exceptional Basil Fawlty that brings the house down, or the moose head. His every move is carefully choreographed and he impeccably captures Cleese’s manic, stubborn and rude characterisations. It’s a near faultless performance and the gel that holds the whole production together.

This highlights package may have no new material but it’s the exact tonic we all need. It shifts to the stage so easily thanks to it’s farcical nature. I’m going to book a week’s stay.

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