FOR those of us of a certain age, it seems incredible that the television series Fawlty Towers had only 12 half-hour episodes when it was first shown in 1975 … more than 50 years ago. Its set-piece scenes and catch phrases – and of course Sybil’s laugh – fast entered the Comedy Hall of Fame, where they have remained through the decades.

So why not revitalise the Torquay hotel for a new generation, thought co-creator John Cleese. With the assistance of his then wife, Connie Booth, Fawlty Towers – The Play was created and played to packed houses in London. Now it’s on a UK tour, stopping in Bath for a week of nostalgic laughter and still-hilarious if VERY familiar sketches.

Director Caroline Jay Ranger and her cast manage the extraordinary feat of bringing something new to Basil and Sybil, Manuel and Polly et al, without disappointing the still-fervent fans of Cleese, Prunella Scales, Andrew Sachs, Booth and the rest of the crew.

Paul Nicholas, now 82, was the heart-throb Claude in Hair and Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar when Fawlty Towers was first screened. Now he plays the forgetful old Major, a man whose rifle is at the ready for rats and Germans (it was the days l-o-n-g before political correctness!)

Danny Bayne is a terrific Basil, using his super-athletic and lanky frame to capture the pomp and bathos of the character. Mia Austen starts proceedings with one of those laughs, doing Prunella proud. Hemi Yeroham is just wonderful as Manuel from Barcelona, and anyone upset that Joanne Clifton was unable to play Polly on Monday at Bath need not have worried. Ashleigh Harvey had every nuance to a T, ready to leap to Basil’s defence at the drop of a moosehead. Each member of the 15-strong cast paints a memorable cameo, and if there’s a bit of standing around, it’s what you do in a hotel reception area.

The writers took three favourite episodes, and skillfully wove moments from the other nine for an (almost) coherent story line. You might, if you were a bit of a dramaturg, complain that this is more a series of sketches than a play. But more likely you will enjoy re-visiting favourite moments and letting yourself laugh. We really need that now.

GP-W