[T]he legendary and outrageous tale Spamalot – a musical lovingly ripped off from the 1975 motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail – is clip-clopping into Theatre by the Lake’s Main House from 1 – 5 May, presented by the well-loved Keswick Amateur Operatic Society, KAOS.
It tells the tale of Arthur, King of the Britons, and his hapless Knights of the Round Table on their quest to find the Holy Grail and features a whole host of mad-cap characters, a fantastic score and hilarious songs that will all make for a gloriously silly evening.
Audiences will be snorting and sniggering to classic Python humour as tap-dancing knights, a killer rabbit, can-can girls, rude Frenchmen and peasants who know their constitutional rights, become entwined in Arthur’s quest.
Musically, the score is full to the brim with familiar songs parodying hit West End shows – from Phantom of the Opera to Fiddler on the Roof – as well as the famously cheery number, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Being written by Python legend Eric Idle with the score by John Du Prez, it’s no surprise the musical won the 2005 Tony Award for Best New Musical.
The 2018 season is the 45th year a stage show has been presented by KAOS, the accomplished, thriving and successful amateur operatic society founded in 1971. Performed in the professional setting of Theatre by the Lake’s Main House, the company’s local talent is put centre stage and last year Cumbria Live praised their hit show Chess as a “polished, seemingly-effortless performance”.
We’re really excited to be performing Spamalot to local audiences this spring. Rehearsals have been going really well and are a delightful challenge as always, especially as this year we’ve been taught tap-dancing by our brilliant choreographer and chairwoman, Jenni Hutchinson, on top of committing lines and lyrics to memory.
It’s been such an uplifting journey and the script and songs are simply hysterical. The hardest moments have actually been struggling to keep a straight face in some scenes! Please do come along for a cracking evening of belly-laughs.
Our production of Spamalot is playing from Tue 1 – Sat 5 May and tickets are available online at www.theatrebythelake.com or by calling their Box Office on 017687 74411.
