You’ve seen that Spamalot is coming to the Key Theatre haven’t you at the end of March? Yes, it’s the amateur dramatic group Westwood Musical Society from Peterborough giving out some spam.
But Spamalot ! What on earth is it?
It’s full of fun and games that’s what… it’s a Monty Python take on the Legend of King Arthur but instead of Camelot …..it’s Spamalot the Musical…. It is a hugely funny show based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail – with added songs and silliness! The show follows the story of King Arthur and his humble assistant Patsy as they gather together a band of Knights in search for ‘The Holy Grail’. Along the way they encounter many obstacles, including: The Knights Who Say Ni, The French Army and Tim the Enchanter…
I went along to see them rehearsing, which started in September, and find out how they were getting on….This year they have a cast of 25 talented performers: There are seasoned Westwood performers in the group along with family members who have been involved for years and who have performed in many of their previous performances including Oliver, Singing in the Rain and the Wedding Singer as well as many more over the years. There have been quite a few newcomers to the group too, when they held the auditions it had an overwhelming response, being sad to say no to many people, but there’s always next year! So with oldies and newbies it’s a great mixed bunch of people with a passion for song, dance and theatre. Everyone is from around the city, so you may end up watching your plumber, your child’s teacher or even your doctor! You never know!
The group itself, Westwood Musical Society, has been running since 1930, would you believe it? They were originally Westwood Works Musical Society as part of the former Baker Perkins site. In 1930, a then very small society put on a production called ‘Money’ in the Rollerdrome in Peterborough. (For those of you who are old enough to remember it… not me!) Now it meets every Monday and Wednesday at the PSL club in Lincoln Road.
Tonight, there’s plenty of yellow about the rehearsal room and we’re breaking all the rules and old wives tales about putting up a brolly inside has literally gone out the window, LOL. …there are songs, dance, stilt walking (just), sword fighting, tap dancing and lots more… tonight they were practicing difficult manoeuvers with tap dancing and the opening and closing of those brollies with tongue-twisting routines and I’m sure I saw an Irish jig!
In full… Monty Python’s Spamalot is a musical comedy adapted from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The parody is of Authur’s Legend but don’t expect the show to be following the story exactly! It’s going to be a bunch of twists, turns and laughs. You’ll find some similar characters too: A brave and valiant Arthur searching for the grail. Sir Bedevere is an intelligent knight with a cunning plan… could he be the one to save King Arthur? Lancelot is a rough and ready knight but has a few surprises up his sleeve for us being a dazzling performer. The true star of the show is the Lady of the Lake – she’s quite the diva but she’ll have you dancing in the aisles! errrr and watch out for the beautiful dancing girls, the flatulent Frenchman and the killer rabbits!!!! 🐇 🐰
Tickets are available from Vivacity playing from Tuesday 26th of March until Saturday 30th March.
£13 confessions. £16 other times or a family ticket is just £50 (2 adults and 2 kids).
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