In Conversation with John Cleese

Another Monday morning has reared its ugly head and, like many out there, I’m anxious for the next weekend to come. While I like my job, there’s something to be said for time off. And that, dear friends, is what I’m heading towards. By next week at this time, I’ll be sleeping in air-conditioned comfort back in the lovely Forest City of London, Ontario. Odd that I could be looking forward to going back there when I live in Montreal, but I’ve never claimed to be “normal.” Besides, the Just For Laughs festival will be over by then!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending In Conversation with John Cleese. I figured that, if I was going to hit the festival, I should try to see one of the big names. And they don’t come much bigger than Cleese. The format of the show was pretty simple. Hosted by Ian Hanomansing, the show was essentially a live interview with Cleese, followed by questions from an eager audience. I’m not a diehard fan of Monty Python or Fawlty Towers, but I’ve seen enough of Flying Circus and the various films to have gained an appreciation for his work. That being the case, I imagine that I missed out on the significance of a variety of the topics about which he spoke.

I think that British comedy is more about the delivery than what’s actually being said. There’s just something about the dry sarcasm and quick wit that makes me laugh. That’s not to say that I enjoy all British comedy because, to be honest, it can be rather dry and I’m not always in the mood to pay attention. It seems to me that, if you’re not on the ball, you’re bound to miss something. The interview took somewhere in the neighbourhood of an hour, followed by a brief intermission and then questions from the audience. It was largely anecdotal, so I can’t really relate back too much of it, but I laughed.

One thing I do recall is that he believes comedy is becoming increasingly difficult because, as the envelope gets pushed further and further, there are fewer places to go with it. After all, we can’t go back to comedy from the 50s and expect it to garner the same laughs as it did at that point. Comedy is a reflection of a moment in time. What was funny at one point contributes to the evolution of what will become funny later on. Comedians (and to a lesser extent, writers) build on the works that came before them so, in that respect, sketch comedy owes performers like John Cleese a great debt.

All told, the interview lasted a bit under 2 hours, and I know the audience was disappointed when it ended. But that’s the way it goes, right? Had they not stopped it there, I’m sure the session could have gone on til the wee hours of the morning. At any rate, so ends my Just For Laughs experience—unless there ends up being more good Last Minute tickets available. Til next time…