In terms of stand-up comedy news it doesn’t get much bigger than the reformation of the Monty Python gang live, short of Mitch Hedberg, Richard Prior and Bill Hicks being resurrected from the other side for a one-off show at Madison Square Gardens. John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin are banding together once again for a limited time only at the O2 and tickets will probably move quicker than an irate Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog at the sight of a few knights creeping around its lair with carrots in their pockets.
It’s been more than thirty years since the five of them got together last as Monty Python in the Meaning of Life in 1983, and for any fans of the films and the original series – which first aired in 1969, by the way – the shows will be a pretty important occasion. Their last live comedy performance was at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California on the 15th September 1980, so hopefully they’re not too rusty for the home crowd.
While we’ve got no real way of knowing for sure, we’re expecting a rendition of Spam, I’m A Lumberjack and Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life in the very least. However, they’re apparently going to be throwing in some modern day, topical new material into the mix, which could be class.
A lot of the dates have been sold out already, so if you really want to see the show you’ll need to move pretty quickly. The downside is that most of the cheaper tickets have already sold out too, so you might need to take out a mortgage to see what might be the last chance of Monty Python live craziness.
You’ll be very lucky to find any of the £32.50 tickets for any of the dates, but in all fairness these would have put you quite a way back, so you might be forced to go for one of the more expensive ticket options instead, but at least you’ll end up being a little closer to the stage. Ticket prices range up to £161.50 from the O2 ticket store, so they’re not cheap, although there were some of the £90 and £107 tickets left last time we checked if you’re OK with being flexible
The good news though is that new dates have been added to create a few more opportunities to get in on the mad-cap action for anyone disappointed with the sold out initial wave of tickets. The first shows announced will be taking place on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th July 2014, although we’re pretty sure these have now sold out unless you’re prepared to sell your soul (and possibly a kidney) to go through a tout. The extended dates have still got some availability and these will take place on the 15th, 16th, 18th, 19th and 20th July 2014.
All together now… Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam Spam…
