Fawlty Towers – The Play has been such a hit that its run is being extended until at least Christmas.
The show, which opened last month at London’s Apollo Theatre, is already booking up until September.
But sources say that John Cleese, who is an executive producer but does not appear on stage, has been swayed into extending the run further by the exceedingly strong demand, with ticket sales per performance at an astonishing 95 per cent and many shows sold out.
A source said: ‘We were surprised by how many of the audience were young people, rather than those a bit older who remember the show being on TV [in 1975 and 1979].
‘There’s clearly more demand out there than we thought, and perhaps enough to keep the show going even longer as word spreads about how good it is.
Fawlty Towers – The Play has been such a hit that its run is being extended until at least Christmas
‘There’s even talk it could permanently run in London, like The Lion King or Harry Potter stage plays.’
Cleese, who has spoken previously about his ‘tsunami of debt’ after three divorce settlements — including one costing him $20 million — has told friends he is delighted to be raking in serious cash from his comedy creation, in which he originated the role of madcap, moustachioed, branch-wielding hotelier Basil Fawlty.
A source said: ‘The Fawlty Towers television show is hugely well-loved, but that’s not the same as it bringing in a lot of money. Repeats only earn you so much.’
The play combines the plots of three half-hour episodes of the TV show – including The Germans, with its famous line ‘Don’t mention the war!’ – into a show lasting just under two hours, with an interval.
Last week, Cleese made a surprise visit to see it, and laughed uproariously.
Afterwards, he congratulated the cast, commenting that Adam Jackson-Smith – who plays Basil – performed the role ‘better than I ever did’.
Fawlty Towers came to the stage nearly 50 years after it became one of Britain’s best-loved sitcoms.
The original series, which ran from 1975 to 1979, followed inept hotel manager Basil Fawlty, played by Cleese, as he tried to keep his hotel and marriage afloat.
Sources say that John Cleese, who is an executive producer, has been swayed into extending the run further by the exceedingly strong demand,
The strikingly similar-looking West End cast includes Adam Jackson-Smith as Basil Fawlty, Anna-Jane Casey as his wife Sybil, Hemi Yeroham as waiter Manuel and Victoria Fox as Polly, the chambermaid.
In 2019, the show was named the greatest British sitcom of all time by a panel of television experts for the Radio Times magazine.
The sitcom was based on real life hotel owner, Donald Sinclair, and Cleese was given the idea when he stayed at Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay.
The original episode, The Germans, was removed off some broadcast platforms for a period of time due to the use of racial slurs, following the Black Lives Matter protests.
However, it returned and was reinstated with a warning about ‘offensive content and language’.
Cleese co-wrote the original series with Connie Booth, who was then his wife. She also starred in Fawlty Towers as Polly.
