REVIEW: Pantomime meets musical theatre for the Monty Python fans in SPAMALOT

Thursday 15th October 2026, 7:30pm, Sydney Event Centre

SPAMALOT, otherwise known as Monty Pythony’s Spamalot: A New Musical (Lovingly) Ripped Off from the Motion Picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail is an absurd spoof on the already absurd.  With music by John Du Prez and original Python, Eric Idle (music, lyrics and book), this work is a must for the die hard Python fans. 

SPAMALOT premiered on Broadway in 2005 and won three out of the fourteen Tony Awards it was nominated for including Best Musical, and received seven Laurence Olivier Award nominations when it premiered in London’s West End in 2006. It’s source material, written by “The Pythons” who comprised Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, who were famous for their sketch comedy television series, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, adopted the same humour and lo-fi design ethos to create a new interpretation of the legend of King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail.  Bringing the work to stage many of the famous lines and visual gags are retained to delight die hard fans, the type that probably sat around living rooms reciting the shows line for line. 

For this production, Director and Producer Drew Anthony has gathered a cast of musical theatre performers with Stephen Curry, more notable for his movie and television roles, ‘headlining’ as King Arthur, recent star of Titanique and an all round theatre and cabaret queen, Marney McQueen as the “Lady of the Lake” and Gareth Isaac from the 2024 season of ELF: THE MUSICAL as Sir Robin leading the cast.  While the Python’s employed a particular pace and wit in the humour, generally delivered with the dry droll British tone that conveyed a sincerity despite the absurdity, the recreation of the lines only really seems to land for the fans that are waiting for the lines to be recited even though they could do it themselves, and some were heard muttering them through the night.  The source material also had an expression of financial restraint applied to the production values and this production employs a large LED screen as an animated backdrop which makes the work all too ‘bright’ and ‘shiny’, particularly when paired with some of the costumes that are a contrast to the low-budget panto premise of the work.

With its source material being over 50 years old, the movie being released in 1975, and the musical adaptation over 20 years old, it’s interesting to see how well SPAMALOT has aged and whether it retains a relevance to 2026 audiences.  The archive reels playing as the audience enters set the tone that maybe the work hasn’t moved with the times and it really is a timecapsule inwhich the fans can revel and reminisce.  For some elements its nice to have escapist stupid humour, for others the gags land awkwardly for the modern audience.  If you can accept the constant repetition of gags between the clever quips, this is an evening of absurd song and dance with the occasional observation that remains relevant in 2026 thrown in.  An easy night out for the Python fans.

Monty Python's Spamalot - Sydney Event Centre

Monty Python’s Spamalot  | Coliseum Theatre