By 2008, 'Spamalot' – dubbed 'The hit musical lovingly ripped off from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”' – was starting to look as unpopular as the processed meat that inspired its name. Despite triumphant Broadway and West End openings in the mid-2000s, flabby casting was leading to reviews almost as unpleasant as its infamous killer rabbit, and in 2009 it closed.
One of the ironies was that worship of the Monty Python sense of humour had led to an overdose of reverence, allowing some of the 1975 source film's more dated aspects to endure. So it's a pleasure to announce that following several nips and tucks – including some judicious tightening of the dance routines – a fresher (sub)version of the Grail legend has galloped into town.
One element that brings an extra glint to the show's crown is the casting of comic Marcus Brigstocke (who is sharing the role with Jon Culshaw) as the snobbish, solipsistic, and permanently bemused King Arthur. Whatever your source for the Arthurian legend, after his brief fling with the sword in the stone, the 'Once and Future King' is reduced to the straight man for his knights of the Round Table, and Brigstocke executes the role with dweebish panache.
In a quest that takes us from a discussion of the physics of coconut transport to the Knights Who Say Ni, his supporting cast keeps the medieval momentum going. Jon Robyns is a particularly amusing Sir Dennis Galahad, all attitude and silly hair, while Kit Orton does a great disco-style exit from the closet as Sir Lancelot.
As the diva-ish Lady of the Lake, Bonnie Langford – and I have to admit, I never thought I'd be writing this – is a sensation, while at the other end of the ego spectrum, Todd Carty's Patsy revels in being downtrodden-with-attitude. Add to this the successfully reworked 'You Won't Succeed on Broadway' and contemporary references embracing everything from Boris to Mitt Romney, and you have before you a musical ready to joust with the commercial challenges of the West End once again.