Not a
musical, as songs slow the pace down too much
Depending
on Covid, we might be able to do it in the second half of next year
No Pythons
in the cast. We've had enough die already
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) July 4, 2021
originally released in 1979, Life of Brian followed the adventures of the hapless title character (played by Graham Chapman) as he is mistaken for the Messiah. Terry Jones’ legendary cry of “He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!” has rung out ever since, I am not sure how in this PC age many of the jokes will go down, like this one,
(A huge Roman
amphitheatre, sparsely attended. REG,
FRANCIS, STAN and JUDITH
are seated in the stands. They speak conspiratorially.)
Judith: Any Anti-Imperialist group like ours must
*reflect* such a
divergence of interests within its
power-base.
Reg: Agreed.
(General nodding.)
Francis?
Francis: I
think Judith's point of view is valid here, Reg, provided the
Movement never forgets that it is the
inalienable right of every
man--
Stan: Or woman.
Francis: Or
woman...to rid himself--
Stan: Or herself.
Reg: Or herself. Agreed.
Thank you, brother.
Stan: Or sister.
Francis: Thank
you, brother. Or sister. Where was I?
Reg: I thought you'd finished.
Francis: Oh,
did I? Right.
Reg: Furthermore, it is the birthright of every
man ...
Stan: Or woman.
Reg: Why don't you shut up about women, Stan,
you're putting us off.
Stan: Women have a perfect right to play a part
in our movement, Reg.
Francis: Why
are you always on about women, Stan?
Stan: (pause) I want to be one.
(pregnant
pause)
Reg: What?
Stan: I want to be a woman. From now on I want you all to call me
Loretta.
Reg: What!?
Stan: It's my right as a man.
Judith: Why do
you want to be Loretta, Stan?
Stan: I want to have babies.
Reg: You want to have babies?!?!?!
Stan: It's every man's right to have babies if he
wants them.
Reg: But you can't have babies.
Stan: Don't you oppress me.
Reg: I'm not oppressing you, Stan -- you haven't
got a womb. Where's the
fetus going to gestate? You going to keep it in a box?
(Stan starts
crying.)
Judith: Here!
I've got an idea. Suppose you
agree that he can't actually
have babies, not having a womb, which
is nobody's fault, not even the
Romans', but that he can have the
*right* to have babies.
Francis: Good
idea, Judith. We shall fight the
oppressors for your right to
have babies, brother. Sister, sorry.
Reg: (pissed)
What's the *point*?
Francis: What?
Reg: What's the point of fighting for his
right to have babies, when he
can't have babies?
Francis: It is symbolic of our struggle against
oppression.
Reg: It's symbolic of his struggle against
reality.
I can imagine a few groups getting a bit hot under the collar about that one of many scenes in the film, but what a great film it is, hopefully it will transfer well to the stage.
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