Something completely different

last updated 8 January 2015

Paris

A French stage version of the beloved British TV comedy Monty Python’s Flying Circus has opened in Paris to rave reviews. Four men and one woman perform 25 sketches, such as the “Ministry of Silly Walks,” and even sing the well-known “Lumberjack Song” in French: “Je suis un bucheron et ça me rejouit, je travaille le jour et je dors la nuit.” Original Python cast member Terry Gilliam praised the French performers for successfully capturing the show’s wacky humor. “The difference between them and us,” he told the BBC, “isn’t so much the language they use, but the fact that they are professionals—and we weren’t.”