By NOEL MURPHY
“BASIL!” The short, sharp admonishing tone of Sybil Fawlty to her deranged husband is one of British TV’s best-known comic phrases.
The fear-stricken “Coming my little piranha fish” response it elicits from her lanky, deranged husband is another. In fact, a great many phrases from John Cleese’s immortal comedy Fawlty Towers are fixtures in the lexicon of fans and followers around the globe.
The Monty Python ‘raving loony’ and his madcap efforts to run a hotel in Torquay, on the ‘British Riviera’, are widely considered the best British television series of all time.
Which is why “He’s from Barcelona, it’d be quicker to train an ape”, “Don’t mention the war! I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it!” and “Hors d’oeuvres… vich must be obeyed at all times vitout qvestion!“ are instantly recognised.
And which is also why the Fawlty Functions review – with Basil, Sybil and Manuel – headed Geelong’s way is set to be a laugh-a-minute affair.
Patrons are greeted at the door by Sybil, who tries all night to maintain a modicum of order and sophistication to matters. Basil, like a giant stick insect in full flight, fusses obsequiously over the patrons while Manuel’s language barrier problems brings a confused lunacy to the table.
In short, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. And diners can expect to be abused by the crazy chef or regaled by the major, whose addled marbles lend an even greater confusion to matters.
The Fawlty Functions crew have worked at many restaurants and private functions over recent years, invariably to rave reviews and rapturous applause. Patrons shouldn’t expect to be mere bystanders either, they’re egged on in the show’s mad antics and never really know what’s coming their way.
Fawlty Functions will appear at the Shell Club on Saturday 30 May.
Oh, and don’t panic if you find a rat in your meal, it’s probably just a Siberian hamster – named Basil.
