Floaty Towers - the Floating Fawlty Towers Tribute Show (That Wasn't Without That Sinking Feeling at Times!)

'Floaty Towers', A Fawlty Towers Tribute Show, was produced by Dreamstone Productions and was performed on The Southern Comfort Mississippi Riverboat in May 2026.

Here we are on the boat waiting for our audience to arrive. There are the 'normal' problems - the moustaches keep coming off, and Manuel cannot decide how many cocktail sticks to hand out on a silver tray (his response to being asked why he is handing out cocktail sticks, is a Manuel-esque "Tcha" and a roll of the eyes - "They are for sticking, you witnit!". The actors do nothing if not stay in character!). Yes, we are nervous - and yes, we all experience that 'sinking feeling' in the pit of our stomachs - the feeling you get as you climb aboard a roller coaster.

How did we get here? Well I, with my business partner Ian Alldis, run Dreamstone Productions . We are a predominantly a Murder Mystery Events company, but we do comedy too. And when Ian suggested we do a Fawlty Towers Tribute Act on a boat and call it FLOATY TOWERS - well, who could possibly resist? And our actors are incredibly talented, switching from gun-toting maniacs to hapless fools in an eye-blink. The game was afoot.

From on deck we watched the audience gather. It was time for Action! Manuel and Basil went to 'mingle' with the crowd, before they boarded - Manuel with his ridiculous tray of sticks, Basil with an officious clipboard in a hurry to tell people they were "Not on the list and were trying to get on for free" (it was a joke of course; the customers happily go along with it).

Basil and Manuel ready to invite everyone on board

Now everyone is boarded, the boat sets sail - time for the show to start in earnest.

What can go wrong? Lots! It is hard to describe what we do and what, in our opinion, makes us special. Although we have a script of sorts, everything we do is ad-libbed. This means that we engage with every single audience member (we keep our audience numbers deliberately low) in character, coming up with answers to any question or presentiment on the spot. Yes, our cast is ridiculously talented; yes, lots of seasoned actors refuse to do 'impro' acting' because it is scary and needs a quick wit that not everyone has. And yes - tonight we are on a boat!

Half way through, the show is going well - Manuel has revealed that he has a 'Norfolk Water Hamster' hidden under the kitchen sink. It is called 'Basil'. Sybil tells Manuel to throw 'Basil' overboard. Manual, of course, misunderstands and goes to "throw Mr Fawlty overboard!". Now the sinking feeling...Dylan, our remarkably talented Basil Fawlty, somehow manages to bang his head (Dylan is 6 foot 4 inches tall) in the ensuing 'throw Mr Fawlty overboard' drama.

Sybil tries to tell Manuel what to do...

We have some moments of panic, a retreat to the Green Room, and talk of returning to the harbour and cancelling the rest of the show. Of course, the actors' wellbeing is paramount. However, it turns out to be a mere graze, and Dylan happily (and with extroardinary Basil-esque energy), completes the show in style! And reader, we have had marvellous reviews.

That was one show down - we are on the boat for a series of Events throughout the summer of 2026, including an Agatha Christie inspired adventure. See here for dates and booking info.

Let us hope all upcoming shows continue to sail us to success!

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Fawlty Towers is written by John Cleese and Connie Booth. Our performance is a Tribute Act, referencing the original Fawlty Towers TV series created by them.

Dreamstone Productions is a Murder Mystery and Comedy Dining Events Production Company based in Norfolk UK.

Donna K. Triggs is an actress, producer, writer and director. Read more about her at www.donnaktriggs.com