Monty Python legend confirms Brighton tour date

Tickets for Always Look On the Bright Side of Life LIVE! are available from brightoncentre.co.uk.

Spokeswoman Margaret Murray promises the show “contains everything including comedy, music, philosophy and one fart joke.

“A rare survivor of pancreatic cancer, he sings, ironically, ‘This may be the last time you see me’ in an evening of rude songs, some singalongs, inappropriate remarks, reminiscences of fame, fortune and rare footage and surprise guests.

“In this one-man musical, Eric, accompanied by The Virtual Band, a sort of Infinite Monkees Cage band, bids a fond farewell to old friends like George Harrison, Robin Williams and Neil Innes with rare footage from and a salute to The Rutles.

“Eric, star of stage, screen and crossword puzzle, has often been compared to Noel Coward. But never favourably. A legend in his own lunchtime, he reveals how he accidentally fell into comedy in 1963 and has been unable to climb out ever since. He has been in show business since 1963. ‘Unfortunately, I can’t find the exit,’ he says.

“The show includes tributes to George Harrison, Robin Williams and Neil Innes with a salute to The Rutles, the Beatles parody movie he created, which was the world’s first-ever mockumentary about the legendary pre-fab four, Dirk, Nasty, Stig and Barry.

“Idle’s last solo UK performance was in front of a global audience of two billion at the London 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony. Leading an 80,000-strong crowd in a sing-along of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, he was surrounded by a lively spectacle of Morris dancers, a choir of rugby players and even skating nuns.

“Two years later, in 2014, he reunited with Monty Python for Monty Python Live (Mostly)—a sold-out, ten-night run at the O2 which he wrote and directed.

“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, coincidentally the title of his best-selling Sortabiography, has been the number one most requested ditty at British funerals for over twenty years. It also appears in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Broadway hit Spamalot, which Eric wrote with John Du Prez, and which returned to Broadway a year ago with rave reviews and packed houses and which starts a tour of the US in September. His recent book, The Spamalot Diaries, an intimate look at the making of the show, was released last year.”