Monty Python Announces US/Europe Reunion Tour
At the recent comedy festival in Aspen, Colorado, John Cleese (who famously quit the BBCs Monty Pythons Flying Circus and years later was given credit for ending the Pythons film career) announced, with the ashes of Graham Chapman reportedly at hand, that Python was back together for a stage tour of Europe and the United States.
Reporting has been sketchy, but we can easily assume that the comedy team will reprise classic sketches like Dead Parrot and Lumberjack. But the real question is this: will the team introduce any new material? We can only hope. Dates have yet to be announced, but we can assume that the reunion tour will resemble the live performance in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl: a flurry of familiar sketches and musical numbers tweaked for a live audience.
For now, heres a quick roundup of the surviving members of the team and what we might expect from the tour.
Terry Gilliam
Its hard to imagine Gilliams involvement in a live tour. His role during the BBCs Flying Circus years was as the animator who produced the highly stylized Python cartoons. When Monty Python transitioned to film, Gilliam, along with Terry Jones, moved behind the camera as a director. Despite performing on TV and on film far less than the other members of the group, he can be seen in several sketches in Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl, so we know he can perform. In recent years, Gilliam has pursued a very serious career as a feature film director (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King, and the upcoming Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). He has set himself apart as such a successful director in Hollywood that the question is, will he take time off from Hollywood to tour with the rest of the Pythons?