FAWLTY TOWERS
Fawlty Towers needs no introduction. This was a complex build that required elements of the set to move to create the dining area also. It was also paramount that the set looked exactly like that in the original TV series. The series of photos below give a good example of a set being built from the floor up on an empty stage.
Marking
out the stage. The ground plan is laid out so the build crew know where to
start placing the Flats and various other elements that will be constructed.
It also ensures that what was planned on paper will actually fit onto the stage
as envisioned.
The
first part of the set to be built was the stair case and main entrance.
This was effectively the backbone of the rest of the set.
The
rear wall goes in. this marks out the rear most aspect of the set.
Illustrated here are the many uses the Flats get. The painted Flats are
from Guards Guards! The three steps you see were already a constructed
unit used in many sets in the past. The rest had to be built from scratch.
Needless to say Theatre 8 now has a much larger permanent staircase that has
been used on RTTFP and Deadwood Dick.
The next sequence of photos show the development of the set into a finished product.
What can't be seen here is the whole wall Stage Left moved across the stage to cover the area occupied by the reception desk. The wall containing the Reception desk retracted off stage, and a new rear wall moved across on a runner complete with two swing doors to create the dining room. Behind the wall Stage Left a second wall concertinaed out to create the external window wall of the Dining Room. The grandfather clock was a working prop made by a member of Theatre 8.
One episode of Fawlty Towers required a Moose head. Not an easy thing to come by, so the Set Builder made one. The antlers were made with Papier mache to keep them light and also because the moose was required to fall on one of the characters.
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