The six headed hydra of comedy surrealism and satire once again raises its head on stage, recounting Python history and using the excuse of Graham Chapman’s death to create a plot. Of sorts.
The talented four man cast weave their way through a show full of Python references, which satirises the satire. This idea is potentially hazardous, however.
The original Python toyed with a sort of post-modernism in their sketch comedy. For example, when Chapman marched into certain scenes declaring them far too silly and therefore over. ‘Pythonesque’ continues this strain of humour, often parodying the original Python sketches and questioning the legitimacy of them doing parodies.
Yet as with much of the Python’s humour, the jokes are often lost on the audience or simply not funny. Much of the original comedy of the troupe was visual, or required sets. Much of the fun lay in a sergeant major walking into a medieval sketch, for example, or the camera flashing to a bleak moor where a bearded Palin quizzically looked at the camera, asking: ‘Lemon curry?’
A treat for fans and four strong performances from the actors, although the humour often fails to raise a laugh.
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