Monthly Archives: December 2015

Fawlty Report

Fawlty TowersJohn Cleese is looking to have a very busy 2016. In addition to everything else on his schedule, including an Australian tour with Eric Idle (which I wrote about here), filming a movie, scripting a Feydeau farce for a possible West End production, and lots of writing, The Daily Telegraph is now reporting that a stage production of Fawlty Towers will be opening in Australia in August.

I haven’t had a chance to confirm this yet with @johncleese, but this would undoubtedly be similar to a very successful Scandinavian production that was presented recently. John has found a way to stitch together three episodes of @fawltytowers into a full-length play, and will doubtless be down under overseeing the production this summer. No, John and the rest of the cast of the original TV series won’t be on stage, but if John is involved, this will be good.

 

Advertisement

Cleese and Idle Down Unda…

@johncleese and @ericidle have just announced another two-man tour, following in the wake of last fall’s tour of Florida and the Southeastern U.S. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that, if you want to see them, you’ll need to be in Australia in February.

Of course, if you’re already living there, or if you’re an Aussie living elsewhere and are looking for an excuse to come home, this should do as well as anything.

If you saw any of the shows last October, you know how much good news this is. Here’s where to get tickets: http://www.abpresents.com.au/current-events/show/john-cleese-and-eric-idle

#montypython #johncleese #ericidle

image

Now it’s good night from me…

image

I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Ronnie Corbett, 85, the diminutive half of Britain’s much-loved The Two Ronnies.

The Two Ronnies show began in 1971 and ran for 12 seasons over 16 years. But Ronnie Corbett actually began working with Ronnie Barker years before that, most prominently on The Frost Report. Most of the individual Pythons worked with the pair as writers, and one of the most successful ongoing sketches featured John Cleese with the pair as upper (Cleese), middle (Barker), and Corbett (working) class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2k1iRD2f-c

It’s a brilliant concept (written by Marty Feldman and John Law), almost works as a sight gag alone, though the writing is brilliant. This clip doesn’t include the punch line(s) however:

Middle: We all know our place, but what do we get out of it?
Upper: I get a feeling of superiority over them.
Middle: I get a feeling of inferiority from him. But a feeling of superiority over him.
Working: (looking up to them, literally) I get a pain in my neck.

I never met Ronnie Corbett (who always reminded me of my pal Tim Kazurinsky), but the first time I visited London, I was staying at Graham Chapman’s house, and was delighted to hear that The Two Ronnies were headlining at The Palladium, and at Graham’s suggestion, scored a ticket. It was money well spent.

We’re losing way too many talented folks lately, and it makes me sad that Ronnie Corbett is gone, but happy that he had such a long, wonderful career and, by all accounts, a happy life.

And now, sadly and for the last time, it’s good night from him.

@johncleese @grahamchapman @montypython #montypython #ronniecorbett