Monty Python's Spamalot (12/07/10, Leeds Grand)

Last Monday we were back at The Grand for another comedy musical, after Hairspray earlier in the month. This time we saw Spamalot, 'A new musical lovingly ripped off from Monty Python and the Holy Grail', which starred Marcus Brigstocke as King Arthur and Todd Carty as Patsy, with Hayley Tamaddon as The Lady of the Lake (apparently she was in Emmerdale). It was a good job we had front row seats (cheaper than the ones in the Gods when we saw Hairspray, how's that work?) as there were sound problems during the first act, but from our position we didn't miss anything, it was just a bit annoying. Brigstocke ad libbed a couple of lines about it that got big laughs, and when we met him after the show he apologised.

The show roughly follows the plot of Holy Grail, one of the funniest movies ever committed to celluloid, with a few references and songs nicked from the rest of the Monty Python canon such as 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' from Life of Brian. Dialogue and moments were often captured verbatim from the original's script and were just as hilarious, Brigstocke particularly was well adept at the Monty Python rhythms. The whole cast was marvellous, and there were only about 12 of them, taking on multiple roles as did the Pythons themselves in the movies. 

The songs often seemed quite brief, but always hilarious and performed with gusto - Tamaddon was particularly impressive - and I loved the way the show played with the convention of musicals, especially in songs such as 'Once in Every Show'. Eric Idle's film cameo as God was a highlight, and the whole sequence at Camelot was comedy gold. When Lancelot was outed as gay and the gorgeous Graham MacDuff had his knight's costume stripped away to reveal nicely figure hugging leggings, I was glad to be on the front row... and then during one of the later scenes I found that he was making suggestive eye contact with me! I thought it was funny and a good part of the act, and then he kept doing it! At the end Lancelot marries Herbert, and when they walked on, Lancelot mouthed 'sorry' right to me! I loved this! Of course I had to point out it was happening to Andrew as he notices nothing, but he saw the 'sorry'. 

I didn't become part of the show like the guy in seat F1 who ended up being called on to stage as the cast sang. It was hilarious for us, I'm not sure what he thought when presented with a prize of a tin of Spam! Curiously the Python's song about Spam was absent from the production. Odd. I really enjoyed Spamalot for lots of reasons. After the show, emboldened by our experiences of meeting Brian Conley after Hairspray, we decided to hang around and try to meet the stars - it was Monday night and there was only one other creepy looking guy waiting. We didn't have to wait long, and ended up with photos with Brigstocke, and Carty, and autographs from both and Tamaddon. I also tracked Lancelot / Graham MacDuff down outside the bar next door and asked for a photograph. He very graciously accepted. Then we practically followed Brigstocke and his family back through Leeds as they were going the same way as us. And the next day I almost bumped into Carty coming out of a bank on the high street on my way home from work. I don't think he recognised me though.