Simon Greiff in Spamalot

Palace Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue London ,
First Performance Saturday 30th September 2006
Opening Performance Tue 17th October 2006

Book: by Eric Idle
Based on the Screenplay by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones & Michael Palin.
Music & Lyrics: by Eric Idle & John Du Prez
Directed: by Mike Nichols
Choreographed: by Casey Nicholaw
Scenic & Costumed Design: by Tim Hatley
Lighting Design: by Hugh Vanstone
Sond Design: by Acme Sound Partners

"Lovingly ripped off" from the 1975 movie Monty Python And The Holy Grail, SPAMALOT retells the classic story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (one of whom has to push the pram a lot!) and their quest for the Holy Grail.

Featuring "a chorus line of legless knights, men in tights (with legs), killer rabbits, insulting French people and gratuitously under-dressed showgirls!" The production also promises "some of the most unforgettable musical numbers you will ever see in the theater on this evening!" and boasts “a cast of under 100!”

With a book by the third tallest Python, Eric Idle, and an almost but not quite entirely new score by Eric Idle and John Du Prez, SPAMALOT won three Tony Awards in 2005 (including Best Musical) and won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

Over here!

SETS MUSICAL THEATRE BACK A THOUSAND YEARS!

Simon Says

In December 2005 I was asked by West End Casting Director David Grindrod if I would be the SPAMALOT Audition Reader for the London production … and in July 2006 I was offered the job of Actor Standby to the leading roles:

Sir Robin/Brother Maynard/Guard 1
Patsy/Mayor/Guard 2
Prince Herbert/Historian/Not Dead Fred/Minstrel/French Guard
Sir Bedevere/Mrs Galahad/Concorde

During the audition process I was lucky enough to be seen by Tara Rubin (the shows original Broadway Casting Director), Casey Nicholaw (the Choreographer) and of course 3x Tony Award Winning Director Mike Nichols !!

I started rehearsals on Monday 21st August 2007, just four weeks after getting married! On Tuesday 17th October the show opened in London with star Tim Curry and American actor Christopher Sieber reprising their Tony nominated performances as King Arthur and Sir Galahad. The show was met with wonderful (or should I say SPAM-tastic?) reviews. In January 2007 Simon Russell Beale took the crown as Arthur … with equally fantastic reviews.

Numerous ‘celebrities’ and stars flocked to our Opening Night. Valentine’s Day 2007 was a special day too as we were visited by British Royalty (Prince Charles and his wife Camilla), ... and on Monday 23rd April 2007 SPAMALOT even broke a World Record! To celebrate St George's Day, we gathered in Trafalgar Square along with the general public, and broke the Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Coconut Orchestra! The public were taught how to ‘clip-clop’ in time to the Python classic “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”, at 7pm the new World Record was set and Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam were presented with the Official certificate. The New York record stood at 1,789 and London smashed this with a fantastic 5,877 people!

The original London production was met with many theatre award nominations, including: the Evening Standard Award Whats On Stage Award Nomination for Best Musical, 4 Whatsonstage.com Nominations (winning Best Musical Actor for Tim Curry and Best Supporting Musical Actor for Tom Goodman-Hill) & 7 Laurence Olivier Nominations (the most nominations for a production in 2006 – but surprisingly winning none).

When I finally took to the stage in any of my many disguises I loved every minute - the laughter, roar of the audience and the standing ovations left me speechless !! I am very proud to say that I covered & played on stage the most characters in the original London production !

Monty Python's SPAMALOT can now be seen in New York, London, on Tour across America and in Las Vegas! A further production is scheduled to open at the end of 2007 in Melbourne, Australia.

‘SPAM-TASTIC’ !