I’m appalled to see how long it has been since I’ve updated
this blog. I regularly go to talks,
exhibitions, events and quirky places and often stat, bashing something out to
post here about it, but I’ve been so busy that I’ve not had a chance to finish
it before attending the next thing, or having to focus on work
commitments. I may well put some ‘old’
things up here when I get a chance because I have done several interesting
things that I’d like to log for posterity, if nothing else, even if it won’t
make for a timely post.
One recent event that kept me smiling for well over a week
was attending the Monty Python reunion at the O2 Arena, something a bit beyond
my means but which I knew would be worth it, so I got there. It seemed impossible that the show would live
up to towering expectations, but I enjoyed it more than I ever could have
imagined. The Pythons treated us to the best
of all their sketches, and delightfully kept to the lines and even facial
expressions that we’ve adored for decades, but also added some new material, creatively
combined sketches, or ad libbed magically (even giggling at times) to make it
all even more special. Even the added
music and dance numbers were slick.
I particularly love how it was not just a reunion of the original
Pythons—all except for the late Graham Chapman, of course, who was there in
spirit and on film so he did take part—but also their musical director,
choreographer, costume designer and the great Carol Cleveland, the woman in the
show who really was a woman. Every bit
of it was utterly magnificent fun, and every Python is just so impressive. I’m thrilled they agreed to do this reunion
and that we’re so privileged to still have them with us, putting their talents
to regular good use.
So rather than say a few words here (as I’ve accidentally
just done), I treated the show the way I do concerts. Since the year dot, long before blogs and
YouTube, I have been putting play-by-play accounts of concerts on my About Last
Night website, and I couldn’t resist putting a (perhaps excruciatingly) detailed review of
the joy I felt when watching the Monty Python Live show.
The show has been shown on Gold and it will
be released on DVD in November (hurrah!), so if you don’t want to see spoilers,
avoid it. But if you can live with
knowing what happens and want to pretend you were there, or relive the fun of
being there, or just want to see several photographs of the outstandingly
talented Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, John Cleese and Terry Gilliam
dressed up doing silly things, you can find my account of it on my concert
website here: http://aboutlastnight.org.uk/MontyPythonO2tc16Jy14.htm
(This link skips my
home page, which seems to be severely ailing at the moment so please avert your
eyes from its shortcomings. But so far, the Monty Python page is behaving
well.)
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