The five living members of comedy troupe Monty Python are reuniting for a stage show at London’s O2 Arena, they announced at a press conference Thursday.
The show will be on July 1, with tickets on sale Nov. 25 at MontyPythonLive.com. It’ll be their first time performing together in three decades.
Eric Idle (who will direct), Michael Palin, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones sat at a long table in a West End theater, answering questions from journalists.
Why now? “We’re all trying to pay for Terry Jones’ mortgage,” said Eric Idle. “And if we left it too long, it’d be too late.”
“At first it will be one and only,” he said later. “You can expect a little comedy, some pathos and a tiny bit of ancient sex.” “And cross-dressing,” said Palin. It’ll be a mix of new and old material. “People want to see the old hits, but we don’t want to do them in a predictable way,” said Cleese.
Tickets prices should range from £27.50 to £95. Terry Jones said the event would be filmed. Throughout he announcement, the Pythons swapped identities, often answering questions as one another, and joked about their age (all over 70). The show first aired in 1969. A sixth member, Graham Chapman, died in 1989. “He won’t be absent,” said Idle, who mentioned interacting with old video footage.
Here’s our top 5 favorite Python moments — what are yours?
5. “Every Sperm is Sacred”
The best part of this Catholic spoof from “The Meaning of Life” is that lyrics like “Every sperm is sacred / Every sperm is great / If a sperm is wasted / God gets quite irate” are sung by children, as if in a holy choir (see above).
4. “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”
This is just good advice. Think about it next time you’re hanging around.
3. “The Visitors”
“Monty Python’s Flying Circus” pays tribute to the late Chapman, the ideal stuffed shirt.
2. “It’s only a flesh wound”
If only they had Obamacare in the Middle Ages, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”‘s Black Knight would have been just fine.
1. “Dead Parrot”
This “Flying Circus” sketch gets the No. 1 spot not just because it’s their most popular sketch, but because it separates the fans from the haters: You either love it and convert, or find them shrill and too silly. “Remarkable bird, the Norwegian blue.” Cleese said at the press conference they’d do a version of it during the live show.
