There’s a bit of a kerfuffle about the stage show revival of Fawlty Towers, which opens on 15th May at London’s Apollo Theatre. John Cleese, who wrote and starred in the original show on the BBC, has decided to omit the racial slurs used by the elderly character Major Gowen. The Major used the N-word when discussing cricket and having seen the episode many times, I concluded long ago that it was the language used by a different generation and even in the 1970s when the show was made it was a bit jolting to hear. Times have changed and, by and large, the N-word is largely considered to be inappropriate to use in any circumstances, never mind in a comedy show. But in editing out the offending word, Cleese goes further.
“Whenever you’re doing comedy,” says Cleese, “you’re up against the literal-minded, and the literal-minded don’t understand irony and if you take them seriously you get rid of a lot of comedy.” He goes on: “They don’t understand metaphor, irony or comedy exaggeration … they’re not playing with a full deck.” So, who are the ‘literal minded’?
If you use the N-word, you are literally using the N-word. You know what it means and, if you’re like me, you don’t use it. You might go even further and be appalled, as I would be, if anyone used it today. Which is where Cleese’s comments come in. And it’s complicated.
Would I watch Fawlty Towers today, N-word and all? Yes, I would. And I’d wince at the Major’s language, with clenched teeth, the lot. But then, I’d watch Mel Brooks’ brilliant Blazing Saddles, which includes a very similar use of the N-word to devastating effect, belittling the very people that use it. Would the same word be used had the movie been made today? Almost certainly not, but 2024 is not the 1970s. What was slightly offensive in those days is more offensive these days.
I am not one of those who believe that there is some kind of ‘cancel culture’ about our changing language and the subsequent decline in use of the N-word and, indeed, the P-word. I’d argue that actually as a people, we have evolved. Younger people, in general terms, don’t see people of colour as being ‘different’, as previous generations did. My grandparents, parents too, grew up at a time when they never saw or came across people who weren’t white. I suppose they saw black and brown people as being, as I said, ‘different’. As time has gone by, most of us have concluded that actually colour is just that. It’s just skin. And underneath the skin is basically the same person.
I’m more disappointed that Cleese is bringing Fawlty Towers to the stage at all and, worse still, back to the TV. As comedy goes, the show was pure genius. Magnificently written, with a brilliant ensemble cast, it could not possibly be improved. So, why try?
Well, money, isn’t it? It’s why everything gets revived eventually. There’s now a crazy idea to revive The Naked Gun, with Liam Neeson stepping into Leslie Nielsen’s role as Frank Drebin. Now, that series of movies was as close to perfection as you could get. Why try to replicate the humour and success without the original stars who made it funny and successful? It will not work and neither will Fawlty Towers, at least not the TV show. The stage show, maybe it will, but I won’t be there.
The doddery old Major was a classic character in Fawlty Towers, his clumsy comments being an essential part of his schtick. Perhaps we were all laughing at a man in the early stages of dementia, too? There’s something else to get literally-minded about.
I’d leave the original show as it is, with warnings to the viewer that some of the dialogue was ‘of the time’. The joke, by the way, was definitely on the Major and not the actual words he used. That’s for the literally-minded among you.
We could pretend some things didn’t happen, or that in the not-too-distant past people laughed at things that perhaps future generations might not find so funny, but that’s true of all comedy, racist or not.
I reckon I do “understand metaphor, irony or comedy exaggeration” and that for at least some of the time I am “playing with a full deck”. I just think that Cleese, who is after all an old man (84), who grew up in a very different world than we did hasn’t realised that actually most of us have moved on from racist humour, intended or not. And he should stop being so bitter and twisted, by instead focusing on the truly great things he did in his life like The Life of Brian and Fawlty Towers. That should be his legacy. not being an angry old man.
