Winner of America's prestigious Tony Award for Best Musical on Broadway in 2005 and the Grammy's Best Musical Show Album in 2006, Spamalot opened in Chicago in 2004, run for over 1,500 performances on Broadway, is still running in the West End of London and has been seen in Australia, Spain, throughout the UK and North America, Poland, Mexico, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, but never before in South Africa.
Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table and features a bevy of beautiful show girls, not to mention cows, killer rabbits and French people!
Monty Python is a British surreal comedy group that created Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. The Phython phenomenon developed from the television series into something huge in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums and several books, as well as launching the members to individual stardom. The group's influence on comedy has been compared to The Beatles' influence on music.
Written by Monty Python's own Eric Idle, the timing for South African audiences to experience Spamalot could not be more appropriate: with original Python members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Eric Idle having just announced their re-uniting for five massive (already sold out) shows in London's O2 Arena in July 2014.
With song titles in Spamalot such as The Fisch Schlapping Dance, I Am Not Dead Yet (sung by Not Dead Fred), The Song That Goes Like This, Whatever Happened to my Part? and, of course, the ever-so-popular sing-along Always Look On the Bright Side of Life, audiences can expect a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend.
Monty Python's Spamalot has book and lyrics by Eric Idle and music by John du Prez and Eric Idle. From the original screenplay Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.
This brand new, all-South-African-cast production by Joburg Theatre of Spamalot will open at The Mandela at Joburg Theatre on 11 July and run until 10 August 2014.
The creative team for the production will be announced in January and cast auditions will take place at Joburg Theatre during the week of 3 February 2014.
And why is it called Spamalot? According to the musical's creator, Eric Idle, 'It comes from a line in the movie which goes 'we eat ham, and jam and Spam a lot.'
