Spamalot set to open in Palace Theatre in October

Spamalot set to open in Palace Theatre in October

	Published : Tue, 21 Feb 2006 19:25 By : Cedric Benson Print this Story

LONDON: The Monty Python musical show Spamalot is all set to hit the Palace Theatre in London in October after its highly successful Broadway show in the U.S. Tickets for the show are now on sale.

Tim Curry and Simon Russell Beale, both English actors, who reenacted King Arthur in the Broadway show, will play the role in London-- Curry when the show is launched and Russell Beale sometime in January. The running show at the Palace Theatre, Andre Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White, closes Saturday.

Inspired by the 1975 film Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Spamalot was co-authored by former Python star Eric Idle and John Du Prez. Idle, launching the London publicity, said Curry will take on the role of King Arthur as the show opens, while Russell Beale will get into in January after his current engagement in The Life of Galileo and The Alchemist, now showing at the National Theatre. Curry will be appearing on the London stage after a gap of 20 years. The other stars in the musical include Hannah Waddingham as The Lady of the Lake and Tom Goodman-Hill as Sir Lancelot.

Spamalot has been taking around $1 million a week in the U.S. and had won three Tony Awards last year, including best musical and best director for Mike Nichols.

Known for his movie roles like Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, Curry had won credits on the London stage for the Hair and National Theatre work such as The Rivals.

Idle, who appears as a comedian in the show, was at his comical best at the London intro. He offered spam sandwiches and badges bearing the slogan "I fart in your general direction", to party guests and sang in chorus "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

He told the audience that he launched the musical in New York before London, mainly because, "I went away to make a fortune in the United States where the people are less discerning and the critics more bribeable."