A new musical lovingly ripped off from Monty Python and the Holy Grail at the Opera House, Manchester from Monday, July 5 to Saturday, July 10, 2010.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life at the Opera House, Manchester, with the arrival of Monty Python’s Spamalot – starring I’d Do Anything winner Jodie Prenger, comedian Marcus Brigstocke and ex-Eastender Todd Carty.

The musical – lovingly ripped off from the classic film Monty Python and the Holy Grail – will be at the Opera House for one week from July 5 to 10, as part of its first ever UK tour. Audiences all around the world have been roaring with laughter since Spamalot - written by Eric Idle and John Du Prez - won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005. It tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and features a bevy of beautiful show girls not to mention cows, killer rabbits and French people.

The show features fantastic tunes which are catchier than the plague like He Is Not Dead Yet, Knights of the Round Table, Find Your Grail and of course the Nation’s Favourite Comedy Song (Reader’s Digest Poll 2009) Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.

Jodie Prenger, who starred as Nancy in Oliver! in the West End after winning BBC One’s I’d Do Anything is playing The Lady of the Lake. Spamalot will be Jodie Prenger’s first musical theatre appearance since finishing in Oliver! - for which she won the 2010 Whatsonstage Theatregoer’s Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. Jodie is a regular presenter of The Midweek National Lottery on BBC1 and her other television appearances include GMTV, Loose Women and All Star Family Fortunes. Jodie has appeared on BBC Radio 2 covering for Elaine Paige and Paul O’Grady as well as co-hosting for Children in Need 2009.

Comedian Marcus Brigstocke will play Arthur, King of the Britons. Marcus' talent was noted early on in his career in 1996 when he won the BBC New Comedian Award at the Edinburgh Festival. He is now regarded as a major comedy, writing and acting talent, performing stand up nationally to sell out audiences both on tour and on the comedy circuit. BBC Radio 4 has become somewhat of a second home to Marcus with regular appearances on The Now Show and Just A Minute. Marcus has notched up an impressive list of TV credits including his role as team captain on Argumental, and host of The Late Edition and I've Never Seen Star Wars. Other appearances include Have I Got News For You, QI, The Late Edition, and The 11 O’clock Show.

Also starring in Spamalot is ex-Eastender Todd Carty, who takes the role of Patsy. Todd’s first major television role was playing the lead of Tucker in BBC TV’s Grange Hill, which proved so popular he then had his own series playing Tucker as an adult in Tuckers Luck. Todd is perhaps best known for his role as Mark Fowler in EastEnders, a role he played for 12 years. He went on to play P.C. Gabriel Kent in The Bill. More recently Todd appeared in the UK tour of The Business of Murder, directed several episodes of Doctors for the BBC and made an unforgettable appearance in ITV’s Dancing on Ice, before going on to appear in the UK tour of the hit show. He also directed the film A Perfect Burger for the British Youth Film Academy which is due for release this year.

Eric Idle (book, lyrics and music) has hyphenated his way through life as a writer-actor in the movies and TV shows of Monty Python, as creator-actor-director of The Rutles, and as singer-songwriter. As well as the Tony Award, Spamalot won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack and has appeared on Broadway, on a US tour, in The West End, in Las Vegas and somewhere in Australia.

John Du Prez (composer) is an associate of the Royal College of Music. He entered the film industry in 1978 composing additional music for Monty Python’s Life of Brian. This began a long association with Eric Idle. He has scored more than 20 films including The Meaning of Life and A Fish Called Wanda. He was musical director for Eric Idle’s two North American stage tours, Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python (2000) and The Greedy Bastard Tour (2003).

Spamalot, at the Opera House, Manchester

Monday, July 5 Saturday, July 10.

Performance times: Monday – Saturday: 7.30pm, Thursday and Saturday matinee: 2.30pm

Tickets: £13.50 - £39.50

Booking line: 0844 847 2295*

www.palaceandoperahouse.org.uk *

* subject to booking fee

Groups of 10+ Mon-Fri 10am-6pm: 0844 372 7272

HOW TO WIN!

To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer the following question and email your answer, together with your name, address and daytime contact telephone number (please mark Spamalot in your subject line). Closing date is 9.00am on June 29, 2010. Usual Newsquest Northwest rules apply. See competition rules section for details. No purchase necessary.

Question: Which type of bird from a famous Monty Python sketch was described by John Cleese as ”an ex-bird”?

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