As many of us have thought for years, Christopher Biggins is God. But so, this summer, are Hugh Bonneville, Barbara Windsor, Larry Lamb, Bradley Walsh and Simon Callow who, along with Biggins, will all play Spamalot‘s quest-giving deity.
The sextet of performers will take on the role of the all powerful cloud dweller for a week each, beginning on 15 July, replacing the usually omnipresent former Python and show creator Eric Idle.
Unlike the rest of the Spamalot cast, which includes comedian Joe Pasquale as King Arthur and British performing icon Bonnie Langford as Lady Of The Lake, the role of God is pre-recorded, so, fittingly for such a being, the stars will both be on and off stage simultaneously.
Rather than profiting from playing God, each actor’s fee is being donated to charity, with recipients including Headley Court Rehabilitation Centre, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Great Ormond Street Hospital, Scene & Heard, Stage For Age and Keats Community Library.
Speaking about his decision to take on the role, Callow said: “I wanted to play God because it’s such a challenging role for a mere mortal. Spamalot is a work of genius and God is the climax. So it was irresistible.”
Former EastEnder and Carry On star Windsor added: “I wanted to play God in Spamalot because having been four feet 10.5 inches tall all my life, this would be the first and only time people would look up to me…”
Christopher Luscombe’s production of the musical, “lovingly ripped off” from film Monty Python And The Holy Grail, tells the story of a monarch in need of direction and his band of knights who encounter insulting Frenchmen, a killer rabbit and beautiful showgirls while on their quest.
Sir Howard Panter, Producer of the production that has been bringing laughter to the Playhouse theatre since last autumn, said of the ‘Summer of Spamalot Charity Gods’: “It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to bring friends of the show in to the role of God in this way, so that we can help such deserving causes while making audiences laugh at the same time.”