Almanac Comedy: John Cleese’s Final Live Act

 

 

If laughter was currency, it’s fair to say John Cleese has provided an enormous return on investment for millions worldwide over the last 50+ years.

 

His collaboration and participation in Monty Python and Fawlty Towers played such a huge formative role in mine and Lynda’s growing up so seeing him live was a no brainer.

 

At the ripe old age of 83 he could be forgiven for slowing up physically and his stories whilst still filled with venom and quality timing, were delivered a bit quieter these days in front of a full Hamer Hall.

 

The first hour of the show had a focus on the ‘woke’ world we now live in and described the difference between telling politically incorrect jokes coming from a place of compassion versus telling them with malicious intent. In Australia and the UK, it’s the ‘piss take’.

 

He strongly believes that humour is derived from mistakes, taboo issues, poor decisions and stupid people. The ones deciding what’s funny and what’s not, have absolutely no sense of humour.

 

He was particularly focussed on network executives who sign off on much of the rubbish that spews out of the tv sets of today.

 

An example of how dumb was flashed onto the big screen. A letter to John and his ex-wife and co-writer of Fawlty Towers Connie Booth rejecting the sitcom, describing it basically as rubbish that no one in their right mind will ever take up. I think that guy went on to be a list manager at St Kilda FC!

 

Of course Fawlty Towers is arguably the greatest sitcom ever made and to this day, hasn’t aged at all. The legacy of Fawlty Towers is of course is the constant reliving of the script and the abundant catch phrases. It’s also for me a lasting tribute to Prunella Scales’ performance as Sybil, so effortlessly belligerent to Basil.

 

John also paid tribute to his fellow Pythons and showed a couple of well known snapshots of the group’s commitment to outright silliness at a time when Britain was in the height of conservatism.

 

 

 

During the intermission the audience were asked to email in questions and in the second half John was joined by his daughter Camilla who scrolled through them on an Ipad and prompted John.

 

Many of the questions were repeated a thousand times during his shows I’m sure but there were some very funny anecdotes and also a touching tribute to his great friend and fellow Python Graham Chapman.

 

After Graham passed away from cancer in 1989, the Pythons pulled the pin only to be convinced ten years later to tour Canada. They said they would only go if they could bring Graham’s ashes with them and this is what happened on live TV on the Robert Klein Show.

 

 

Python catch phrases are part and parcel of everyday life for many of us and they have become almost like a secret handshake when you hear someone mention one.

 

John also hears them regularly and he remembered one particular incident in Jamaica when he was driving a resort golf buggy and it crashed slightly into another buggy as he started it up.

 

He quickly checked the driver of the other buggy to see if he was ok and the gentleman replied ‘No just a flesh wound’ reliving the Black Knight in The Holy Grail. He then recognised John and gasped, “Oh my god it’s you!”

 

To see John live was a thrill for both of us. There’s discussion that he and Camilla are doing a Fawlty Towers 2 but I’m nervous about that. He is definitely collaborating with a Melbourne screen writer on an upcoming Australian film.

 

The writer, Monty came on stage before John and explained that it’s a true story from the early 1940’s whereby the army took on thousands of wild emus in WA and the emus won!

 

John Cleese has had an extraordinary life and has no fear confronting his imminent demise or when he ceases to be. He flicked up on the screen those who have departed such as Ghandi and Nelson Mandela then displayed those who are still alive as in Putin and Trump. Which state would you rather be in, he asked?

 

He will always be Basil to us. The angst ridden hotelier is timeless and it’s a tv show that was way beyond its years and so relevant today. Thanks for all the millions of laughs John.

 

Here are some classic Fawlty Towers bits to feast on:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can read more stories from Ian Wilson Here.

 

 

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