John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers - The Play to come to Manchester theatre as big TV show anniversary looms

'More people will now have the chance to laugh themselves helpless'

Adam Maidment What's On and LGBTQ+ Writer

12:18, 04 Dec 2024

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Fawlty Towers - The Play, co-written and adapted for the stage by John Cleese, will be coming to Manchester next year(Image: Hugo Glendinning)

A Fawlty Towers play co-written and adapted for the stage by John Cleese will be coming to Manchester next year.

The 1970s BBC show, which is set in a dysfunctional Devon hotel, has constantly been named one of Britain’s best sitcoms despite only ever consisting of 12 episodes.

In 2016, leading actor John Cleese joined forces with fellow co-creator and star Connie Booth to create a play based on three episodes of the show - forming one main storyline with a new finale. Since then, the play has toured the world and is currently playing to sold-out crowds at London’s Apollo Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue.

In 2025 and 2026, the play - described as ‘the funniest show in town’ - will head out on the road as part of a ten-month UK and Ireland tour, kicking off at Bromley's Churchill Theatre from September 30, 2025.

Alongside dates in the likes of Bournemouth, Wycombe, Northampton, Plymouth and Liverpool, the show will also arrive at Manchester's Opera House.

The play will be coming to Manchester's Opera House for five days in November(Image: Hugo Glendinning)

The play will take over the historic Manchester venue for eight shows across five days from November 4 to 8, with tickets now on sale via ATG. Casting announcements will be made as the tour nears.

Speaking about the production, John, 85, said: “When we came up with the idea of bringing Fawlty Towers to the stage, I never thought it would get the reception that it has.

“On 23 December, it will be 50 years to the day since we recorded the pilot at BBC Television Centre and I’m delighted that the audiences we’ve had in the West End still think it’s as funny as ever.

Fawlty Towers ran for 12 episodes from 1975 to 1979 and remains one of the country's best loved sitcoms(Image: BBC)

“The announcement of the tour means many more people will now have the chance to laugh themselves helpless.”

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The tour will also include dates in Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Milton Keynes, Edinburgh and Cardiff, before concluding at Oxford's New Theatre from 14 to 18 July, 2026.

Tickets for Manchester shows, running from November 4 to 8, 2025, are available via ATG. Prices start from £23.