There is a sense of things coming full circle in Princess Theatre, as Fawlty Towers returned to the seaside town that first inspired one of Britain’s most beloved comedies.

On opening night of Fawlty Towers – The Play, the cast spoke of both the weight of expectation and the joy of bringing such an iconic show back to its “spiritual home” — with original co-creator John Cleese in attendance.

Cleese himself described the moment as deeply personal: “Bringing Fawlty Towers – The Play to Torquay and being here myself is just wonderful — it’s like coming home.”

Recalling his early ties to the town, he said: “I used to come here a lot in the mid-50s because my closest friend, Malcolm Kerr, lived here,” before reflecting on the now-legendary stay at the Gleneagles Hotel that helped shape the series.

"I came back at the beginning of the 70s when the Pythons came here,” Cleese continues. “We came to film, and most of them left the Gleneagles Hotel after, I think, 24 hours and went to the Imperial because the hotel owner was just so awful.”

For Danny Bayne, who steps into Basil Fawlty’s famously fraught shoes, working alongside Cleese has been nothing short of transformative. “It’s marvellous,” he said. “We were lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks with him working on timing and how to make the words funny — genuinely brilliant.”

Bayne described the experience as “life-changing” and “a real life-altering situation,” adding that performing one of comedy’s most revered scripts comes with both privilege and pressure. “Doing any comedy after this is probably going downhill a little bit,” he joked.

Yet despite the legacy, Bayne insists the production is far from a museum piece. “You can’t make this a product — it wouldn’t be funny. It needs to be living and breathing every second.”

That spontaneity is something Cleese actively encouraged. “He said to me, ‘Oh, just change the line,’” Bayne recalled. “I’m like — that’s never going to happen. Nothing I say is going to be funnier than what he and Connie came up with.”

Mia Austin, who plays Sybil, echoed that mix of reverence and creative freedom. “It’s a bit of a pinch-me moment,” she said. “Working with John Cleese is such a privilege and an honour.”

Rather than strict impersonations, Austin explained that the cast has found their own rhythm within the original framework. “We’re not really doing impersonations, we have to be faithful to the roles, but with a sprinkle of our own characterisation.”

She also highlighted the unique energy of performing the farce live on stage. “If anything, I think it elevates the comedy being on stage — there’s just action everywhere,” she said. “It’s a testament to the writing that it still holds up.”

Both actors pointed to the audience reaction as the ultimate measure of success. “We’re here to have fun and make you have fun — that’s literally it,” said Bayne. “The plan is joy.”

Austin agreed, describing audiences being “in stitches from beginning to end as they’re transported back into the chaos of a Torquay hotel that we all know and love.”

And in the town where it all began, that chaos feels more at home than ever.