Monty Python star John Cleese has revealed he plans to ditch the famous song ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ from his new stage adaptation of religious satire The Life Of Brian.
One of the most memorable scenes from the 1979 hit film was the finale when Brian (Graham Chapman) and his disciples broke into the song as they were being crucified.
Cleese told the UK’s Mail on Sunday that he considered the scene “too predictable.” He said:
“It was shocking in 1979. It was absolutely astonishing.
“People thought it was hilarious, they screamed with laughter. Well, nobody is going to be shocked now – the joke is 40 years old.
“People do love the song but do we want to end with something that’s completely predictable?”
And Cleese added that he will also ditch the scene where ‘Romans Go Home’ is written in graffiti, because the language is much less taught in schools now than when the film was released.
However, the comedy veteran doubled down on including the scene where revolutionary Stan announces he wants to be a woman and mother.
As Deadline previously reported, Cleese insisted he never said that he would remove the politically incorrect scene, even though the film’s 1979 sensibilities will not draw quite the laughs it once did, owing to the rise of trans issues awareness.
Cleese claimed it was “misreported” that he was planning to cut the “Loretta” scene. Instead, he said he has “no intention” of removing it.
The scene in question features a male character declaring that he wants to be woman named “Loretta,” and wants to have a child. Cleese’s character tells the man that the notion is ridiculous, while another suggets that they all advocate for his right to childbearing.
“I want to be a woman. … It’s my right as a man,” the character claims “I want to have babies… It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them.” After Cleese’s protest, the character snaps, “Don’t you oppress me!”
Cleese told the Mail on Sunday he was still tweaking the script for the stage project after three years.
“I listen to everyone and then I think about it long term and make up my own idea at the end of that,” he said.