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If you want a dreary miserable night that feels like it's never going to end... don't go to the Fawlty Towers Dining Experience because you'll have an absolute hoot!
We went for a tipple to get us in the mood.
And then off to the hotel for the fun to begin.
It began with a drinks reception - everything was quiet until Manuel tottered in chased by Basil Fawlty and later joined by Sybil.
They were of course not the real deal, but the likeness to the characters from the TV show was incredible particularly Basil and Manuel.
After a very unsuccessful attempt at training Manuel to collect our empty glasses and circulate some nibbles, we were ushered into the dining room for a meal like no other.
[I'm desperately trying not to spoil this for any reader because you should just go and have a super fun night without having heard too much from me.]
Served by the Fawlty Towers team, we were entertained all the way through the 3 course meal, with plenty of audience interaction. Basil picked on us quite a bit for being vegetarian but it was all in good jest.
Manuel was a delight: here's a little peek at him in action.
When I booked this experience I thought that it would be good fun, but it might be frustrating not to see John Cleese, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales (Polly was mysteriously absent), and instead sit through performances of impostors.
However, the actors did such a fantastic job at capturing the essence of our beloved characters that I needn't have worried. If I shut my eyes, I would have thought John Cleese was in the room - the actor's voice was spot on!
There was a perfect mix between entertainment from the cast and time to enjoy a chat whilst we were eating the food (which was surprisingly not bad). The show finished with a bang and off we trotted home along the river.
Still buzzing from the performance, we had a party for two when we got back to our Southwark palace, dancing on the sofa and playing games till 4am.
We loved getting up for a 7th birthday party in Birmingham the next day!!
Without further ado...
Book this as a special treat - there's a link to the website here, but you can also get lots of tickets on lastminute.com and other deal sites. There are a number of copycat operations sprouting up - I can't vouch for them but can highly recommend the group that I've linked to above.
In London visit from Thursday to Sunday just near Charring Cross - it sets you back about £60 a ticket, which includes your 3-course meal. I expected drinks to be more extortionate than they were - we shared a bottle of adequate wine during the meal for a not-too-painful £23. There's also a UK tour and tickets in Australia!
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
A Yearful of London is my New Year's Resolution - to do something you can only do in London every single week. Coming up: lunch in the shard and a hidden walk of the docks!