When I was working for John Cleese, I often urged him to put together a one-man show. He agreed it was a good idea, but never seemed to have the time to organize it. Eventually, faced with the need to pay out an atrocious amount of alimony for too many years, he found the time, and his fans and his ex-wife are the better for it. He’s performed it in various places, trying it out in New Zealand (where, as he put it, if it was a disaster, no one would likely ever hear about it)–and playing it in Scandinavia, Australia, even a few California dates. Now it’s Canada’s turn, where the Halifaxians and Torontons have seen it, and he’s working his way west even as I write this. The bad news: most shows are already sold out, so if you’re in that Great Northern neck of the woods and want to see it, you’d better move fast. But if you’re in Edmonton with nothing to do, try this, but do it quickly. And if you have a great deal to do, but can still get to Edmonton next week, cancel your plans and go see the show anyway. As of this writing, it looks like there are a few tickets remaining for one of the October 5th shows, which would be a great way to celebrate Monty Python’s 44th anniversary.

Why am I writing about it now? Because I finally, at long last, had a chance to see the show. It exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high to begin with. I’ll write a short, completely biased review soon, along with a backstage look at the show.