THE lady beside me is, by now, terrified to put her elbows anywhere near the table. A fellow across the room is staring at a bucket of raw carrots, regretting requesting the vegetarian option. And as for the poor dear in the corner who's found someth
ing "belonging" to Chef (he's drunk, of course) in her soup, well, if only this were the real Torquay hotel of the John Cleese BBC sitcom, at least she could demand her money back.
But the insults, humiliation and calamitous service come as part of the ticket price (along with a fine three-course meal – the real B'est Restaurant chefs thankfully aren't actually drunk, although they do look pretty bemused). The show is the work of Interactive Theatre Australia, the southern hemisphere's premier Fawlty Towers impersonators. Apart from when the occasional stretched Aussie vowel cracks their European accents, this trio are painstaking and gifted imitators.
Manuel (Tony Nixon) bumbles around confused, smashing dishes and taking all manner of verbal and physical abuse from Basil (Nigel Bell). Sybil (Alison Pollard-Mansergh) bosses in her shrill nasal caw. Basil schemes, connives and gradually cracks. The cast can entertain only so many diners at once, and it's dragging a bit by the crème brûlée. But you're as good as guaranteed at least one personalised put down each, and what's consistently funnier than anything else is the look on patrons' faces, as they're belittled, bullied and accosted with bread rolls. Go in a big group (monopolise attention; safety in numbers), give as good as you get (the cast are at their best when ad-libbing). And for God's sake, keep your elbows off the table.
Until 24 August. Today 2:30pm & 9pm
The full article contains 302 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
