The devil’s in the details

The cast of Spamalot during a recent dress rehearsal at the Mayfair Theatre. Photo: Chris Sullivan.
The cast of Spamalot during a recent dress rehearsal at the Mayfair Theatre. Photo: Chris Sullivan.
Slapstick musical Spamalot might be silly, yet it requires attention to detail too, writes Shane Gilchrist.

It’s a serious quest making audiences laugh.

Spamalot director Dave Goosselink holds a prop from the opening scene of the show, The Fisch...
Spamalot director Dave Goosselink holds a prop from the opening scene of the show, The Fisch Schlapping Song, in which Finnish villagers slap one other in the face with a herring as part of a courting ritual.
Dave Goosselink, the director of Musical Theatre Dunedin’s season of Monty Python’s Spamalot, admits he’s a bit of a stickler for a well-delivered word.

Otherwise, the show’s many jokes, witticisms and spoofs could stink as badly as one of those flatulent French soldiers who appear in one scene.

Running at the Mayfair Theatre, Dunedin, from September 7-17, Spamalot is based on the 1975 film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Created by Eric Idle and John Du Prez, Spamalot  had its Broadway premiere in 2005.

As the musical’s tagline explains, it has been "lovingly ripped off from the motion picture".

The slapstick retelling of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table features a range of curious characters, including killer rabbits, the Knights of Ni, the Black Knight, as well as those aforementioned French.

It’s also a musical, which means there are plenty of tunes, such as He Is Not Dead Yet, Knights of the Round Table, Find Your Grail and Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life (although the latter wasn’t actually part of the original film Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

"It is Broadway song and dance," Goosselink explains.

"Spamalot takes bits that were in the original movie, expands them, and adds songs for each character. There are some really catchy tunes.

"It is well-written. There are no boring ballad scenes, as you might get in some musicals. It is, after all, Monty Python. Even the slower numbers in the shows are Broadway spoofs."

Yes, it’s all very silly.

Yet it’s also a lot of hard work, says Goosselink, who recalls seeing Spamalot not long after it arrived on Broadway.

"It had the original cast, including Dave Hyde Pierce [of Frasier fame] and Tim Curry. I loved it."

A year later, Goosselink returned to New York with a theatre group and saw a new version of the show.

"Although the rest of the group was happy with it, I was really angry. I thought key lines, including punchlines, were being missed. They were trying to reinvent the lines.

"If you do those skits wrong, it is easy to make it bad."

Thus when Musical Theatre Dunedin invited Goosselink to direct its latest project, his first thought was, "I’m not going to try to reinvent the wheel".

Familiar with the Monty Python classics Life of Brian and Holy Grail, he says the cast members’ knowledge of the source material varies.

Some are treading familiar ground; some have entered a new world.

"Having said that, a couple of younger actors must have had parents who were into it. One guy came in to audition and was able to pull off four characters brilliantly, pretty much without a script.

"The cast do get it. They have watched a lot of the scenes and skits. And, seven months into the preparations for the show, they are still laughing at jokes and silliness."

A Dunedin-based reporter for TV3’s Newshub, Goosselink has long held a passion for theatre.

"There was a time when I wouldn’t take a full-time job because for three months of the year I would go to upstate New York where I’d work in theatre camps. It’s been a good grounding.

"I try to go overseas once a year. I go to London or New York and try to see all these new shows.

"I have done a lot of performing on stage. But I prefer being in the back row, in the chorus. I do enjoy the social side of a production."

Appointed director in December, Goosselink cast Spamalot in March, and rehearsals began in early June.

Now, as opening night looms, various elements are coming together, artistically and physically: the set has been moved into the Mayfair Theatre; earlier this week lighting was being set up; last weekend the cast visited the venue ("good for the new ones, in particular").

"All of this stuff provides an extra boost. We are going pretty smoothly."

It helps, Goosselink says, to have some experienced heads within the cast, and also the production team.

"I have a broad overview but choreographer Robyn Sinclair is much better at picking up the details. For example, I might see a wide light on set and the visual looks good, but she will notice if four people have their hands up and one has their hand down.

"I have worked with Stuart Walker, the musical director, many times. And we have some fantastic leads, who are very experienced.

"Peter Storer [King Arthur] has done The Producers and Phantom; and Greg MacLeod [Sir Lancelot/Head Knight of Ni], was in Hairspray and Beauty and the Beast,’’ he says, referring to previous productions by Musical Theatre Dunedin, formerly known as Dunedin Operatic.

"They have good comedic timing and understand it. The minor leads have been able to feed off them."

 

The play

Musical Theatre Dunedin and the Otago Daily Times present Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Mayfair Theatre, Dunedin, from September 7-17.

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