Spamalot. LAODS. Lincoln Arts Centre. June 26 2026.

There are a few regular bookings that I do for Review Culture that I always look forward to. One of those is the annual musical from LAODS at the Lincoln Arts Centre. I have been attending and reviewing their shows since seeing The Producers a couple of years ago and I am very definitely a fan of theirs. I am always made to feel welcome and this year I was due to visit their dress rehearsal where I was hoping to test a new camera, however fate intervened and in the afternoon I was due to visit I took a tumble in the street and was left rather shaken and stirred and reluctantly cancelled my visit. Fortunately, the company offered me the chance to come and see this year's show albeit rather late in the run due to other commitments at my end. So, without my new camera, I ventured to Lincoln on one of the hottest days of the year and I was so glad that I did.

Director Stacey Carr has crafted a wonderful production that looks and sounds stunning. Aided by a team including Simon Calver as Musical Director and choreographers Rachel Dodson and Katie Cheetham, Carr has created a memorable production that builds on the success of a previous production of Spamalot by LAODS, ten years ago. I also have to mention the costuming for this show. The cast of 35 performers were wonderfully costumed by a team who had made every costume for the show, creating a cavalcade of colour. Some show-stopping costumes wouldn't have looked out of place on a Las Vegas stage. The wardrobe enhanced every aspect of the production.

Unless you have been living under a rock, since 1969, Monty Python's Flying Circus has etched itself into the collective consciousness of the British psyche and dictates how the rest of the world views British humour - and this play is remarkably British in its humour. The musical takes its lead from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail and builds from there by adding songs and scenes specifically leading to a long-running Broadway musical named Spamalot. It is everything we have come to expect from the Pythons over the last half a century and if you know their work well, you will be well-served by the fare on offer in this show.

The ensemble work in this production is highly memorable, as dancers, singers and general chorus members pepper the show with energy and enthusiasm, dazzling the audience and adding sheer spectacle to the event. But the lead performers deliver performances that are top-notch and could easily grace the professional stage.

As always it is difficult to avoid singling out specific performers, but Nicola Calver as The Lady of the Lake possesses such talent and charisma and absolutely steals the show with her diva-like characterisation and jaw-dropping costumes. The way she teased the audience had them eating out of the palm of her hand. I loved her performance of Find Your Grail and the whole audience was roaring with laughter at her petulant performance of Whatever Happened To My Part?

As King Arthur, Simon Nicholson was imperious. His portrayal of pompous entitlement was terrific and his mellifluous baritone was rich and velvety in every song, though my favourite was the delivery of I'm All Alone. The role is performed with tongue firmly in cheek, Nicholson maintained an almost Shakespearean focus in the way he brought Arthur to life. Sustaining such a performance in a laugh a minute comedy is no mean feat.

The other principal role I want to single out was Alan Trevor as Patsy, a prototype for Blackadder's Baldrick - a faithful servant/peasant and a wonderful idiot. I amazed that Trevor's back isn't damaged by both the posture he adopts and the voluminous back pack worn for most of the show. Special mention must also go to his skills as a prop maker. He constructed both the beautifully realised clam shell from which the Lady of the Lake emerges and the enormous Trojan Rabbit that dominates the stage when it makes its entrance. Trevor is a wonderfully talented man who informs me he will be taking a well-deserved break after this show.

Other notable performances from Arthur's Knights of the Round Table were provided by Simon Calver as the gloriously closeted Lancelot, Andy Morris as Brave Sir Robin, a coward to the core, Dom Gilvary as the inventive though slightly clueless Sir Bedevere, and Matt Waldeck, wonderfully vainglorious characterisation of Sir Galahad and a fascinating cameo by Andrew Warnes as Sir Not Appearing In This Show that has to be seen to be believed.

The show kicks off with a lecture by Helen Green as Anne Historian, another excellent cameo characterisation. Joe Brammer totally understands the assignment and is born to perform shows with this kind of humour with numerous hilarious characters including a memorable French Taunter and something of a flying nun! I also want to mention Joel Howard, a new performer to the society, but someone I have watched and reviewed on many occasions across Lincolnshire. His flair for comedy is unquestionable and he absolutely seized this opportunity with both hands as Not Dead Fred and Prince Herbert.

Two of the key scenes that impressed me were The Knights That Say Ni and The Black Knight. Rik Hardenberg on stilts is a sight to behold and Matt Waldeck as the knight getting dismembered really made me chuckle. Bob Chatterton's Mrs Galahad also deserves a mention too, appearing throughout and stealing focus as "she" goes.

I defy any audience member to emerge from this show without a smile on their face, the talent on display is exemplary and though the heat outside was hideous, as always with LAODS the show must go on. And it succeeds magnificently. Thank you to all concerned for creating yet another delightfully impressive musical theatre spectacular. I look forward to next year's offering of Legally Blonde, which I have no doubt they will absolutely nail.

The show closes today so unless you can see the show at this afternoon's matinee or this evening's final performance, you will really have missed out.

Andy Evans 27 June 2026

All photography by Richard Hall, provided by LAODS. Used with permission.