The Monty Python reunion in London began on July 1, and after a 10-day break, picks up again tonight at the O2 Arena for the final five nights that will see Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin on the same stage together, doing silly things one more time. Of course, it's not all silliness - the first five-night run of the performance raised more than £20,000 for five different charities chosen by the Python members, by giving those charities the opportunity to auction off the right to perform in a sketch alongside the cast.
To celebrate the achievements of the Monty Python crew, UKTV channel Gold - which will air the final performance of the reunion on Sunday - contracted with sculptor Iain Prendergast to create a 50-foot fiberglass version of the famous "Norwegian Blue" parrot. The parrot, which is famous for being dead from the moment it was sold, was placed on Monday at Potters Fields Park in South London, near Tower Bridge.
This is both a fine reminder to tune in on Sunday to the broadcast
and an outstanding opportunity to inspire countless visitors to declare in increasingly frantic tones that "This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! It's a stiff!" Because if there's anything that you need to commission a 50-foot fiberglass sculpture to get people who know every word to famous
Monty Python sketches to do, it's to recite the funnier bits of those sketches to anyone within earshot.
Comment: A few
details from LondonSE1:
Three sculptors worked for more than two months to design, construct and paint the giant bird inspired by the famous 'dead parrot' sketch.
"We are all Monty Python fans so we were delighted to receive the brief from Gold to recreate the mythical 'Norwegian Blue' on a giant scale," said lead sculptor Iain Prendergast.
"We watched both live and televised versions of the sketch and found that there have been a number of different incarnations of the parrot with a variety of different plumages.
"Our sculpture provides a colourful hybrid of the dead parrots which have featured in the celebrated sketch.
"The key challenge for us was capturing the comedy value of the dead parrot, keeping the realism of the bird whilst also adding touches like the bloodshot, 'stunned' eyes."
Steve North, general manager of Gold, said: "We believe that our giant dead parrot provides a fitting tribute to a sketch that is so loved by audiences throughout the world. We hope that fans will join us for the final Monty Python performance this Sunday to see Britain's greatest ever comedy group bow out in style."
Comment: A few details from LondonSE1: