IT sounds like a recipe for disaster – a restaurant run by an incompetent bully and his shrill, overbearing wife, staffed by one put-upon Spanish waiter who speaks no English.
For fans of the classic BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers, however, it could be their idea of a perfect night out.
Now diners in the Capital are being offered the chance to experience what it would be like to go for a meal at the infamous Torquay hotel.
The show is the brainchild of Interactive Theatre Australia, a company of performers who have been earning rave reviews for the dining experience since they started it more than a decade ago.
They have now decided to take the plunge and are bringing the show to this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival for its international debut. The three actors put in quite a shift, serving all of the food as well as providing the evening's entertainment.
Alison Pollard-Mansergh, who plays Sybil, admitted that it was "a lifetime ambition" to come to the Fringe – although not with this show.
She said: "I'm actually a classically trained opera singer and I always thought I would end up coming to Edinburgh one day to do that – not play Sybil Fawlty.
"We're all just thrilled to be coming to Edinburgh though, and I'm sure we will get the same kind of die-hard fans of the TV show that we get in Australia.
"We want people to experience the feel of eating at Fawlty Towers, and that goes right down to the little details, like the tables all being set wrong because, of course, they have been laid out by Manuel.
"We're really looking forward to it and everyone's just really excited about coming over to Edinburgh."
The unique experience on offer from the performers will see guests greeted in typically gruff fashion by Basil Fawlty, before enjoying a quick pre-dinner drink and then a three-course meal – although anyone asking for a Waldorf salad is likely to be disappointed. In fact, with a waiter who may not fully understand anything they say, just getting the right drinks could be a problem.
With Basil and his wife constantly bickering as the evening goes on, it is sure to be anything but a quiet night out for diners who decide to take the plunge.
The adaptation of the famous sitcom, created by John Cleese and Connie Booth, will be held in the B'est Restaurant, on Drummond Street.
Manager Tudor Dinu said: "This is the first time we've been used as a Fringe venue and it should be very interesting.
"We have an area at the back of the restaurant which will be set aside for the show, so we can serve our usual customers as well.
"I think it will be great and hopefully, if all goes well, they will come back in future years."
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Faulty Towers – The Dining Experience runs from August 4-24. Dinner performances cost £37 for a three-course meal and two-hour show, while lunch performances cost £29.THE BEST OF BASIL FAWLTY..• Responding to a request for a Waldorf salad: "I think we're just out of Waldorfs."
• To telephone operator: "I've been trying to get through to the speaking clock... Well, it's engaged... Well, it's been engaged for ten minutes. How is this possible? My wife isn't talking to it."
• Explaining to Manuel that his Siberian Hamster is, in fact, a rat: "Well, of course it's a rat. You have rats in Spain, don't you – or did Franco have them all shot?"
• "I'll put an ad in the papers: 'wanted, kind home for enormous savage rodent. Answers to the name of Sybil.'"
• "A satisfied customer. We should have him stuffed."
• "Don't mention the war. I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it."
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www.edfringe.com•
www.interactivetheatre.com.auThe full article contains 659 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
