A few months back, it was announced that the legendary Mr John Cleese was going to visit Singapore and do a talk at the National University of Singapore (NUS). I was actually really excited to hear about this, as I always wanted to hear about his history, his upbringing, and more importantly share the laughs of the great guy that I grew up with.
The days of Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda and even James Bond (well not as James Bond, but in a couple of the more recent films), made feel honoured to be in a place with such a legend.
The show itself was scheduled for Sunday 4th May and Monday 5th May – and I brought 4 tickets – to share the fun and laughter with a few friends. The show tickets that we brought were $151, whilst slightly on the expensive side, I felt it was worth it (after all – it is not every day that someone like John Cleese visits Singapore!).
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- The Stage is Set!
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- The group waiting for the fun to start
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- A nice stage backdrop
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- The legendary John Cleese on stage
The show started at 8pm, and it went on for about 3 hours – it certainly was full of laughter, and it brought back the fond memories of by-gone days. One thing I didn’t know is that his family name was originally ‘Cheese‘, but he grandfather changed it to ‘Cleese’ when he went to joined the army to avoid him being picked on. That was quite amusing, and I can see why it was changed 🙂 It was such a fascinating upbringing and life story – and he certainly brought it to life. The comedy aspect all started at Cambridge University at an Amateur Theatrical club called “Footlights” – where the likes of John Cleese, Clive James, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Hugh Laurie, Peter Firth etc all were members.  Wow – what a list of stars! From there Cambridge Circus was originated, after which the Frost Report, and slowly all of this moved onto the Monty Python show. It is amazing to think that this all happened in the 1960’s and 70’s and it continued in the 1980’s. This really emphasises the good ol’ Brit humour of the days and it was fun to watch a montage of video clips throughout the night – really got the audience in stitches.
What a life this legend had – I certainly found the whole night humurous and intriguing – all in all – a sensational experience.
