Debating Monty Python’s Life of Brian
Top photo: Richard Burridge with Michael Palin on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme
On 30 December 2013, I spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about the controversy sparked in 1979 by Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The programme featured a conversation with John Cleese and Michael Palin as they prepared for the Pythons’ reunion later that year.
I was also involved in the international conference held in June 2014 organised by the King’s College London Department of Theology and Religious Studies entitled ‘Jesus and Brian, or What Have the Pythons Done for Us?’ The highlight was interviewing John Cleese and Terry Jones about the movie and their understanding of Jesus for an hour one evening. I also gave my own paper on “The Church of England’s Life of Python – or ‘What the Bishop saw’,” discussing Cleese’s famous interview with the Bishop of Southwark in the light of Not The Nine O’Clock News’ spoof parody interview, now published in the book, Jesus and Brian.
