SPAMALOT to Close in West End on January 3, 2009

On Saturday 3 January 2009, King Arthur will announce his abdication as he finally gives up the throne at the Palace Theatre in London. Sanjeev Bhaskar, will complete his reign as the fifth and final King of England, following in the footsteps of Tim Curry, Simon Russell Beale, Peter Davison and Alan Dale. He plays alongside Nina Söderquist, who beat over 1,000 hopefuls in the Swedish reality TV show West End Star as Spamalot's The Lady of the Lake.

Opening in the West End in October 2006, Monty Python's SPAMALOT has enjoyed over two years of coconut smashing, fish schlapping and grail searching in front of audiences ranging from royalty to rock stars and soap stars to supermodels. Monty Python's SPAMALOT is currently playing at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway and on tour across North America and will open in Spain this autumn and Germany in January 2009.

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nina Söderquist are joined by Gerard Carey as Prince Herbert, Ross Dawes as Sir Robin, Jake Nightingale as Sir Lancelot, Andrew Spillett as Patsy, Adam Stafford as Sir Bedevere and Michael Xavier as Sir Dennis Galahad. Bhaskar will not perform on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Directed by Mike Nichols, Monty Python's SPAMALOT is "lovingly ripped-off" from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Book and lyrics are by Eric Idle with a Grammy Award-winning score by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. Other members of the SPAMALOT creative team include Casey Nicholaw (choreography), multiple Olivier Award-winners Tim Hatley (sets and costumes) and Hugh Vanstone (lighting) and Acme Sound Partners.

For more information, visit www.montypythonsspamalot.com

Photo: Sanjeev Bhaskar as King Arthur, by Simon Turtle