An Evening With John Cleese | 4/5

SINGAPORE — Comedic legend John Cleese entertained a sold-out full house at the NUS’ University Cultural Centre on the first of his two-night engagement in Singapore on a balmy Sunday evening. It was perhaps appropriate that the show was held within the grounds of an institution of higher learning as Cambridge man Cleese invariably speaks with a clipped middle class accent and his brand of humour is a bit more cerebral than the popular stand-up comedians these days like, say, Russell Peters.

Besides those obvious differences, Cleese’s routine came across like an autobiography as he shared his life and times with a rapt audience, relating how he started from relatively sedate beginnings before moving on to zany comedy on television and the movies, with Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, various Monty Python films and, of course, A Fish Called Wanda.

It was all pretty simple, with Cleese either standing or sitting on a bar stool, assisted by slides or short video clips. In many ways, it came across more like a talk or seminar and less like a comedy routine. One could argue that the use of the video clips was a means by which Cleese could minimize the amount of time he had to spend talking, which in itself seemed radical and somewhat against the grain. But that perfectly sums up Cleese the man and the comedian — never expect the ordinary. Considering that his greatest achievements are somewhat in the past (he is in his early 70s now), it was no surprise that the audience (made up of older folk in general) had little problem with the manner in which he delivered his routine — many were simply in awe of the great man in front of them.

Elsewhere, Cleese’s stand-up tour had been described as The Alimony Tour. It’s all tongue-in-cheek but with a hint of truth in it as Cleese joked about his latest divorce settlement at the very start. Looking smart casual in his jacket and jeans, he was genial and self-deprecating throughout — attributing much of his initial successes to “luck” and being at the right time and place — without placing too much stock on his talent and genius. But of course, this is classic misdirection and a simple ploy to get the audience on his side. There were slides of his mother and father on-screen, stories of his father in World War I and abroad, and of his mother’s particular idiosyncrasies. These autobiographical retellings would cover his time at Cambridge, his association with David Frost and ultimately his co-founding of the highly influential Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Video clips of those early days continued to thrill the audience even though they might have seen these before (and are probably available on YouTube, in any case.).

Dark humour — taboo subjects like sex, religion, death and extreme violence — came out in the second half and it wasn’t difficult to see how Cleese (and his collaborators) managed to pioneer its use to such an extent that it is taken for granted nowadays.

However, it was rather disappointing that Cleese elected not to talk about the biggest controversy in his career — Monty Python’s Life Of Brian — presumably as the film is still banned here in Singapore (but available in its entirety on YouTube). It was a missed opportunity.

Despite that, there was absolutely no doubt as to how well received John Cleese was — even if was partially fueled by feelings of nostalgia. Like I said earlier, it was enough to be in the presence of greatness.