I’m sure that there are not very many of us that haven’t heard the phrases “Yes,dear” (said in a low growl and through gritted teeth), “Basil” and “Que”. They are the catchphrases from the famous 70s British sitcom Fawlty Towers starring John Cleese, Prunella Scales and Andrew Sachs.

This year is the 29th Anniversary of Interactive Theatre International’s interactive tribute Faulty Towers The Dining Experience. Having experienced this truly hilarious show twice myself, it’s very easy to see why it has lasted so long and is now a world-wide success (and it originated in Queensland). As stated, it is truly hilarious plus you get a beautiful three course meal thrown in (and sometimes it may literally be lol).

The audience are the dining guests looked after(?) by Mr Faulty himself, wife Sybil (the real boss) and poor put-upon Manuel who means well but suffers from fighting a language barrier. There is plenty of improvisation and interaction with the guests, but with selected scripted ‘bits’ that we all know and love cleverly woven in.

The cast for the performance reviewed were James Colbourn-Keogh (Basil), Gemma Drummond (Sybil) and Alex Forero (Manuel). All three were perfect incarnations of the famous three. Colbourn-Keogh has Basil’s facial expressions (or lack of) down pat, intimidating us just by standing still. Drummond channels Prunella Scales down to the tiniest touching of her bouffant and the shrill pitch which seems to elevate to super sonic pitch if she has to sing Happy Birthday – it takes an excellent singer to sing that badly. We instantly took Forero into our hearts with his ability to mean well but muck it up. He telegraphs jokes such as ‘roll on plate’ and ‘take the glasses’ extremely well, making sure that we are just one step ahead of him. The physicality of him and Colbourn-Keogh has to be seen to be believed!

To fully appreciate the fun and hilarity of the show, make sure you are there at least 15 minutes before the starting time advertised to give you an idea of the laughs you have signed up for.

This is a very family friendly show. I had a young miss with me as one of my guests who had seen the show in 2025 and had loved it then, but thought this version was even better.

And don’t forget the 3 course dinner – it is truly delicious.

Here’s to 29 more years of this inspired lunacy and laugh-a-second fun.