A spamtastic summer ahead for all at the Key Youth Theatre

Lovingly ripped off from the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

So Kindred KYT will be bringing back the plague to Peterborough ... with a 50% chance of pestilence and famine, together with a brace of impossibly beautiful dancing girls, flatulent Frenchmen and monster killer rabbits.

The story begins... Arthur and his faithful and smelly servant Patsy recruit an array of knights to accompany him on his quest, including Sir Bedevere, Sir Robin, Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad.

Besides the rabbits and farting Frenchman, they meet such characters as the Lady of the Lake, Prince Herbert, Tim the Enchanter, Not Dead Fred, the Black Knight and the Knights who say Ni.

And, not forgetting the fantastic tunes by Eric Idle, John Du Prez and Neil Innes including He Is Not Dead Yet, Knights of the Round Table, Find Your Grail, Diva’s Lament and, of course, the anthem to British pluck: Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.

Kindred KYT’s recent productions of Les Miserables, West Side Story, Into the Woods and 2016’s Little Shop of Horrors have received both public and critical acclaim and Spamalot promises to bring audiences flooding back to the Key Theatre.

Spamalot will be directed by West End actor Paul Crosby, with Choreography and staging by Lisa Collings and musical direction by Steve Hession.

The fantastic cast will as ever feature the incredibly talented young people of Peterborough and its surrounding areas including familiar KYT faces Josh Wilkin and Gavin Meichan as King Arthur and Sir Galahad. Josh and Gavin are reunited onstage having delighted audiences as ‘The Princes’ in Kindred’s 2015 production of ‘Into The Woods’. Joining them as The Knights of The Round Table are Jamie Glasby and Sam Makepeace-Beach who wowed audiences with their performances in last Summer’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’.

Also returning to the Key stage will be India Chadwick as ‘The Lady of The Lake’.

India has previously received outstanding reviews for her performances as ‘Cosette’ In ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Maria’ in ‘West Side Story’ and ‘The Baker’s Wife’ in ‘Into The Woods’. India has also recently been accepted to study a three year degree in Musical Theatre at The Guildford School of Acting.

Director Paul said: “We are so excited to bring Spamalot to a Peterborough audience. It is probably the funniest musical that I have ever seen. I saw it on its last day in the West End and from then I knew that we had to produce it with Kindred KYT. The characters that people will know and love from the original Monty Python movie all remain and add to that the brilliant and hilarious songs…well, it’s just ends up being a fantastic trip to the theatre.”

The show is already on sale at the Key and Paul also said: “Tickets are selling really well at the moment, we’re delighted, and the great thing is that not only will we hopefully draw the audience that have previously supported KYT’s productions, but also the Monty Python fans, of whom we know there are many in Peterborough, particularly given the success of the live screenings of the Monty Python concert at the Key.”

Kindred KYT has built a fantastic reputation in the city over many years and this year actually marks the 25th anniversary of the Key Youth Theatre.

KYT was started in 1992 by the Key’s then artistic director Derek Killeen along with Colin Wise. Paul then took over the running in 2003 working closely with the Key’s former artistic director, Michael Cross.

In 2014 Paul and his wife Lisa formed Kindred Drama and have continued to enhance KYT’s excellent standing in Peterborough and now offer an extensive range of performing arts activities to children from 18 months to 18+ years.

SPAMALOT will run at the Key Theatre from Wednesday 16 th – Saturday 19 th August, nightly at 7.30pm, with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm. Tickets can be bought at www.vivacity-peterborough.com or by calling the Key Theatre Box Office on 01733 207239.