The first production in 2005 won three Tony Awards, including ‘Best Musical’. Its initial season grossed $175 American million. ‘Spamalot – the Musical’ is a musical comedy adapted from the 1975 film ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’

This energy packed show can be seen in the main theatre, Koorliny Arts Centre in Kwinana until Saturday 17th September. The 150-minute shows are at 8.00 pm, with a matinée at 2.00 pm.

Stephen Carr and Jethro Pidd’s set design was impressive; on each side of the stage was a limestone tower topped with a large turret window. The back wall was a limestone battlement and castle gate, that converted to a forest scene. Set beautifully dressed by Kate Smith.

The stage manager (Taneeka Loreto) had to be well organised, as there were an abundance of entrances and exits, often with numerous actors going off to one wing at a time. The crew (Chris Footer, Sam Taylor, Jayden Fern, Ben Steel, Tiarna Wills) were ‘invisible’ and most competent. 

     It is England in 934 AD. The sound of horses’ hooves approaching can be heard, it is the bold King Arthur (Mitch Lawrence – magnificent voice) and his scruffy, Baldrick-like servant, Patsy (Jon Lambert). They are searching the land for a wife for the King. When going through a pestilence stricken village, where the dead are being taken away on carts by the mortician (Darren Gould); one poor man, Not-Dead-Fred (Tate Bennett) refuses to lie down and die. Even the vicar (Troy Plackett) and the flying Nun (Liam Gould) could not save the situation. Then there was the actor who was in the wrong musical, but kept appearing (Jayden Lyon).

     The King decides to gather a group of knights together, The Knights of the Round Table. In the street he finds a tatty, bearded woman (Adam Dean) and her son, Denis, whom he renames Galahad (Joshua Towns). Then he finds Sir Robin (James Massey) an audacious knight, who is incontinent at the slightest fright, accompanied by his manservant (Jarrad Thomas). Shortly after they find Galahad’s rival-to-be, the muddled Sir Lancelot (Carl Grice).

     As the knights wander the countryside in search of a potential Queen, out of the freshwater comes a troupe of lackadaisical water nymphs, the Lakettes (Emily Geling, Sara Stanford-Bluntish, Malia Bennett, Eibhlis Newman) and their leader, the Lady of the Lake (Rachel Monamy – what a voice).

     Whilst travelling through mysterious lands, they meet a French mime artist (Alex White) who gives them wise advice.

There was a brief cameo appearance by David Stapleton, an audience member – Now a STAR.

The marvellous director, Jethro Pidd, has chosen an outstanding cast. The lead singers had perfect pitch and could belt out a song with feeling, whether with sensitivity or humour; each of them could blow ‘The Voice’ apart with talent. Headsets perfectly controlled by Mishka Miller and experienced sound operator Alex Coutts-Smith gave his best.

Jethro also showed immense flare in guiding each and every cast member, with their comedic delivery. Even the singers and dancers, who are normally expected to simply smile whilst performing, had some whacky actions to cope with. Eric Idle’s songs are crammed with humour, so clear diction was essential and delivered.

Jethro proved that not only can he lead, but he can perform as well as he demands. His screwball, animated performance in the ‘Interval’ was hilarious, I am amazed he didn’t suffocate in the process.

The vivacious choreography (Anita Telkamp, Sam Nielson) was astonishing, it was audacious and packed with energy, covering many genres; whether acrobatics, tap, Can-Can or comedy, the dancing was faultless. The costumes for this type of production are often cardboard armour and show signs of economy; however, these costumes (Lara’s Clothing in Warnbro) were immaculate. The chainmail looked real, the tabards beautifully sewn and the dance costumes bright and stylish.

Musical Director, Taui Pinker, and his large band were in a room adjacent to the stage, this allowed for perfect musical balance. The musicians were Taui, with Kate McIntosh and Andrew Dobosz on keyboard; Talitha Dunn and Wayne Griffiths on reed instruments; Jeni Stevens, Paul Marion and Warren Bracken on brass; Vlad Sturdy, guitar and Chris Ingram, bass; with Luke Casserly and Andrea van Graan on percussion. This talented group also supplied perfectly co-ordinated sound effects and soundscape.

The lighting design was complex, yet smooth and slick thanks to Lee and Joshua Germain.

This show is a musical, so the musicians and singing must be quality – they were superb. Then it is a riotous comedy, with laughs in every song and throughout the script, so high-class comedy skills were essential – EVERYONE had magnificent delivery. It had to be bright and colourful, and thanks to the stunning costumes, the show sparkled. A total success that is rounded up with a classic Monty Python song.

A great deal of praise must be given to the Kwinana Council for supporting this show.

This hilarious and energy packed production is a ‘must see’, not just for Monty Python fans but for anyone that fancies a great night out. However, there is one minor problem – some shows in this 250-seat theatre, have almost sold out already. BRILLIANT.

Duncan Anderson, Wayne Gale, Peter Francis, Alan White, Daniel Corbishley built the spectacular sets, from sweet machines to a dunny – complete with massive, superbly painted backcloths (supervised by Bronwyn White). Sheryl Gale collected the numerous antique props required.
The stage managers, Corina Herbert, Rach Hayter and Angus Young had their exceptionally busy teams working efficiently, quickly and silently. Poor stage management would have meant the pace dropping off and a subsequent loss of the ‘magic’. The advanced and inventive lighting design was by Karen Francis, with the spotlights operated by Suzy Wiseman, Ruby Liddlelow, and Fiona Kennedy.

Under the supervision of their teacher, Miss Phillips (Kristie Hennessy), the eight-year-old twins, Jeremy (Sebastian Cruse) and Jemima Potts (Marissa Pereira) are looking around Mr Coggins’ (Jayden Lyon) garage backyard when they find the wreck of a British Grand Prix winner. As they play on it, the local scrap metal man (Oliver Clare) offers Mr Coggins 30/- for it. The children are sure that they can get either their widower father, an eccentric inventor and Naval Commander, Caractacus Potts (Jon Lambert) or their Grandpa Potts (Peter Sydney-Smith) to buy it and restore it.
Lurking in the background is a Laurel and Hardy-like couple of incompetent spies, Boris (Daniel R. Nixon) and Goran (Nicholas Gaynor). They have been sent to England to buy or steal this car, by their Bulgarian boss Baron Bomburst (Joshua Towns), and his miserable wife, Baroness Bomburst (Kim Moore).
However, the Potts family are poor and cannot afford the 30 shillings. A lady passes the group on her three-wheeled motor bike (thanks to Mandurah Scooters) and as it is out-of-tune, Professor Caractacus repairs it for her. The beautiful woman is Truly Scrumptious (Kristie Gray), who on hearing of Caractacus’ financial plight, suggests he should invent a new type of lolly to show Violet (Jo Bickford) and then sell the idea to the local sweet factory that belongs to her wealthy father, Lord Scrumptious (actor ?).
Eventually Caractacus raises the money from a local turkey farmer (Bailey Bridgman-Peters) and the family go to the beach in Chitty to celebrate, but fly much further. After a long flight in Chitty, the Potts family arrive in Bulgaria. When the Baroness, who hates children, hears of their arrival, she employs a Child Catcher (Scott Hansen) to kidnap Jeremy and Jemima. The Baron, who is still a child at heart, has special toys made for him by the royal Toymaker (Rory Ellis). This toymaker confides in Grandpa Potts that there are hundreds of children hiding in the sewers below the city. The children have Toby (Angus Thomson), Greta (Maren Gosby) and Susan (Nicole Cook) looking after them and fighting for their welfare.
Can the Potts family save the day? Is there romance in the air?

Under Musical director David Hicks, assisted by conductor, Vanitha Hart, the orchestra were obviously in their element with such well-known songs as ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, ‘Toot Sweets’ and ‘Truly Scrumptious’. With the help of Rhiannon Francis, the orchestra also created an exciting array of sound effects. The musicians were:- Woodwind players Bec Moroney, Luis Santos, Blake Howieson; Brass – Sascha Todhunter, Harry Josland, Ben Lim, Ned Holland; Double bass – Joshua Cusack; Percussion – Mark Beasy, Sam Bradbury and Keyboard – David Hicks and Mia Brine. The balance of the orchestra was perfect, without any individual instrument overpowering the others.
The dance sequences, choreographed by Ashleigh Riley and Megan Doohan, covered simple styles such as Grandpa Potts swaggering up and down as he sings ‘Posh’, through to the sedate Bulgarian Ball scene and the frenzied Rumba. In every routine the whole ensemble were perfectly in step. The footwork in ‘Me ‘Ol Bam-Boo’ and the arm movements for every song were complex and demanding, and yet I can honestly say that not a single person was out of step or daydreaming. Great work by the choreographers and the whole cast.
Vocal director Kristie Gray has a beautiful and powerful voice, but getting 60 raw recruits to perform well must have been a real challenge for her. The chorus performed magnificently. The Potts family and Truly were in perfect tune and pitch; the final song of the first Act was performed in Chitty as it rose up and tilted, and yet the singers still managed to belt out the number without a single nervous flicker. True professionalism.
The 20-sided, full colour, A4-sized programme, was only $5 and so the audience bought a few copies each for those proud relatives that could not make the show. Well done Kristie Hennessy, Jon Lambert, Rhiannon Francis and Jayden Lyon for the artistic creation.
With 60 performers on stage at a time, the costumiers (Gaynor Cook, Catherine O’Brien, Pat Francis, Kerry Tarbuck, Lisa Clubley, Lisa Hubbard, Karen Chivers, Linda Lowry, Cathy Wainwright, Michaelia Bertram-Hulme and Ashleigh Riley) certainly had their work cut out. The factory workers uniforms, the rumba skirts, the exotic ‘Me ‘Ol Bam-Boo’, the filthy street kids in the sewers, every scene had immaculate design and costume production. Not a single outfit was basic, the trimmings and creative thought was first class.
The car is obviously the centrepiece of the whole tale, and so it was essential that it should be special, stunning and of quality – poor Peter Sydney-Smith (Grandpa Potts) was given the task of designing and building the machine. This was not going to be a cheap project for the producers, but with the generous help of Mandurah Canvas, Battery World and Mandurah Auto Performance, all of the parts from the old-fashioned lamps to the Dickie Seat, the hydraulic hoses and the numerous trims, the car took shape. In the end the car could drive onto the stage, rise from the floor carrying four people, the tyres tilt at 90 degrees, spread its wings, tilt and tip at incredible angles. With the smoke effect under the chassis, the car was well above the clouds. The massive cheer from the audience showed their appreciation for all of the work.
A community show that could leave the professionals embarrassed. Absolute quality.
Do not miss this latest fantastic, magical, family fun show from multi-talented director Karen Francis.