Devon

Fawlty Towers Play Returns to Torquay Princess Theatre

By

Karen McGinn
3 February 2026, 5:13 pm

A professional stage production of the famous sitcom Fawlty Towers is coming to the Princess Theatre in Torquay, Devon, from April 14 to April 18, 2026. The run is being billed as a homecoming for the town: the original television series was famously set in a fictional Torquay hotel.

The play was adapted for the stage by John Cleese and brings together three classic episodes into a single two-hour farce. The production follows a sell-out West End season and a national tour.

The cast includes Danny Bayne as Basil Fawlty and Joanne Clifton as Polly. The production uses a two-tier set that recreates the hotel lobby and dining room to bring the 1970s comedy to life.

According to the official Fawlty Towers tour site and venue listings, the residency is part of the show’s 50th-anniversary celebrations. Organisers say early ticket sales show strong local demand and suggest the Torquay dates could sell out.

The television series was inspired by the Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay, where members of the Monty Python team stayed in the early 1970s; the hotel’s co-owner Donald Sinclair was the model for Basil Fawlty. The Gleneagles building was demolished in 2016 and has since been redeveloped.