Paul Nicholas spoke to the ECHO ahead of his return to the Liverpool Empire stage this week
Paul Nicholas stars at Major in Fawlty Towers – The Play(Image: Hugo Glendinning)
Legendary actor Paul Nicholas shared memories of Brian Epstein and Paul McCartney as he prepares to return to the Liverpool Empire stage. Following two sold out and critically acclaimed West End seasons, John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers – The Play kicked off its major 11 month tour at the end of September. The show will run at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre from Tuesday, November 11 until Saturday, November 15.
50 years since Fawlty Towers was first broadcast on BBC Two on September 19 1975, comedy legend John Cleese, who originally co-wrote the much-loved sitcom with Connie Booth, has chosen three of his favourite original TV episodes – ‘The Hotel Inspector’ and ‘The Germans’ from series one and ‘Communication Problems’ from series two – and adapted them into a two-hour play, complete with a new finale.
The play stars Danny Bayne as Basil Fawlty, Mia Austen as Sybil, Joanne Clifton as Polly, and Paul Nicholas has reprised his role as The Major. Ahead of the show’s arrival in Liverpool, actor Paul Nicholas spoke to the ECHO about the tour and shared fond memories of the city.
Paul said: “Well, it’s been very enjoyable. We did it in the West End. It got very good reviews. It was well attended by audiences. And so far, touch wood, it seems to be proving a winner on tour. We’ve been to other venues, Eastbourne, Bournemouth, Bromley, and Wimbledon. And now we’re in Manchester, which is not a million miles from you, as you know. And the audiences seem to be enjoying it and we’ve got very good houses. So I think it’s a winner.
“I’ve done a lot of shows over the years and some go well and some go okay. But it’s nice to be associated with and in something that people seem to enjoy. We get a lot of laughter. We get the odd standing ovation. And you can’t ask for much more as a performer than that, really.”
He added: “There seems to be an affection for certain TV programs that people remember, albeit 50 years ago, whatever it was. They [audiences] still retain that memory and if they weren’t looking at it the first time around, they probably caught up with it via YouTube or whatever. So when they come, they’re getting kind of what they remember.
Joanne Clifton and Paul Nicholas in Fawlty Towers – The Play(Image: Hugo Glendinning)
“They may not remember it entirely, but there will be bits that they will remember. And I think the great thing that John Cleese has done, by putting the three episodes together, it kind of satisfies everybody. A, it’s funny and B, people will remember bits and they have an affection for it and that translates to how they react during the performance. It’s really down to the writing and the material and if the material for the performer is good and people like it, you know, you’re halfway there really.”
With a career spanning more than six decades, which started in pop music, 80-year-old Paul Nicholas has appeared in some of theatre’s greatest shows including Hair, Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar. He starred in the 1983 BBC sitcom Just Good Friends and is known for more recent television roles in Eastenders and The Real Marigold Hotel.
He told the ECHO that his character in Fawlty Towers, Major, has “some really lovely bits” in the show. Paul said: “For me, it’s great because I’m playing an old guy. And, you know, if you’re playing an old guy and you are an old guy, it helps.
“I’ve done lots of musicals. I don’t have to sing in this. I’ve done Barnum where you have to walk a wire and juggle. So I don’t have to do any of that. And that’s very helpful, you know, when you get to my age, not to have to do those kinds of things. So it’s a nice, in many ways, gentle part.”
Paul’s stage career has already seen him perform in Liverpool numerous times. He recently performed in the city in 2023 at the Playhouse as Douglas in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. He recalls performing at the Empire and the former Iron Door Club, which closed in the ’60s.
Paul Nicholas as Jesus Christ and Dana Gillespie as Mary Magdalene in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar'(Image: Central Press/Getty Images)
He said: “I remember playing a club, I used to play piano for Screaming Lord Sutch. I think it was a club called the Iron Door years ago that we played, I remember. I knew Brian Epstein a little bit who managed The Beatles. I remember he played me the Sgt Pepper album years ago, before it had come out because I did a gig for him. And he said, ‘you want to hear this new album?’ And he played me the Sgt Pepper album.
“I’m also a big fan of Paul McCartney. In fact, I met him at a Royal Command performance. I did one with him, not with him, but he was on the bill. And I’m standing in the wings and he says, ‘hello, Paul’. And I turn around, it’s Paul McCartney and Linda. I thought, he knows who I am. And I was quite surprised. Apparently they were fans of a show that I did on TV called Just Good Friends.
“And they were avid watchers of that particular show. So he knew me. And I was quite shocked. And he said, ‘hello, Paul’. And I said, ‘oh, hello, Paul’. Like we’re old mates. But I’m a great admirer of him. I think he’s fantastic. He keeps going. They say to me, because I’m 80 now, and they say, ‘how do you do it?’ And I said, well, those guys, like Jagger and Paul McCartney, and those guys are still out there.
“And they’re playing three-hour sets, they’re singing for three hours and playing instruments. So, you know, there’s hope for all of us, I think. They’re a great example.
“I think the thing is that you’ve just got to keep going. And if you’re lucky enough to be still working at my age, I think you should count your blessings. You know, because if there’s one thing I like doing more than anything, you know, is being in something that people enjoy, that I enjoy being in.
“I have great fun doing it. And if you’re in a success, everybody, the whole company are happy. And so it’s a happy environment to be around. And I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
Fawlty Towers – The Play is at Liverpool Empire from 11-15 November. Tickets: FawltyTowersTour.co.uk