6th November 2023
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Honey, wake up! The new LUST production just dropped! And oh my, is it a doozy. When I saw the opportunity to see LUST’s hilarious production of Monty Python’s Spamalot I jumped at it like a killer bunny (yes, I’m going to make these kinds of references throughout. Cry about it). As a lifelong Monty Python fan, I can conclusively say that LUST knocked it out of the park on this one. On the parts that kept to the original, they did them justice. For other parts, they had their own creative freedoms which had flair and an unapologetically camp, vaudevillian essence that made it a cackle-fest from start to finish.
It wouldn’t have been the outrageously funny show that it was without the production team (Anatole Myint – Musical Director, Angel Burrows – Producer, Tabitha Fuller – Assistant Producer, Hannah Shillingford – Choreographer) and their director Ellen Oldershaw. In 7 weeks of production, they completed the quest for their Holy Grail (not before the obligatory licensing issues). Spamalot was chock full of belly-laugh bits, impeccable footwork, and Horrible Histories references which married wonderfully with moonwalking monks, mild Francophobia, and the odd critique of monarchical rule (big up Dennis, a.k.a Sir Galahad).
The musical aspect, of course, was indispensable as it tied the whole thing together in a sparkly silver codpiece. Whether it was lampooning Finland or spoofing romantic theatre tropes, the show wouldn’t have been the same without musical director Anatole Myint. That’s not to mention the ABSOLUTE PIPES that the Lady of the Lake has (Ava Feeney, seriously man this gal was insane) which only popped up a handful of times: a criticism already covered in her “Diva’s Lament”.
The actors clearly loved what they were doing, too. Personally, my stand-out moment was Dennis’ (Sir Galahad; Luca Cartledge) tirade against King Arthur’s divine right to rule coming about because “some moistened bint [threw] a scimitar at [him]”. The memories of watching Monty Python’s Holy Grail as a child came roaring past, tinged with an Aussie twang.
As I walked out of the theatre at the end of the show – careful to mind the fourth wall rubble strewn across the floor – I couldn’t help but run through the gags and bits in my mind, imprinting a permanent smile on my face for the remainder of the evening. I can, without any question or hesitation, say that any poor sod who missed Spamalot (and any future poorer sod who misses any of LUST’s upcoming shows) is missing out on an epic experience. And as a reminder, this was all for £6 per ticket. The moral of the story… GO AND SUPPORT LUST! For updates and tickets, follow their Instagram here.
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