John Cleese: The Monty Python Legend Coming to Cyprus at the Age of 87

When John Cleese takes to the stage at Eleftheria Arena in Nicosia on 10 November 2026, he will have just turned 87. And the title of the show could hardly be more fitting for Cleese: “Last Time To See Me Before I Die.”

The performance brings one of the most influential figures in modern comedy to Cyprus for a live one-man show in which he revisits stories from his extraordinary career, including the Monty Python years and Fawlty Towers, while also tackling fame, ageing and death with the sharp, irreverent humour that has defined him for more than six decades.

From law student to comedy revolutionary

John Marwood Cleese was born on 27 October 1939 in Weston-super-Mare, England. An only child, he grew up in a family far removed from show business. His father worked in insurance, while Cleese has often spoken about the complicated relationship he had with his mother, Muriel, and the effect it later had on his personality and relationships.

There is also a wonderfully Python-esque detail in his family history: the family surname was originally Cheese. His father, Reginald Francis Cheese, changed it to Cleese when he joined the British Army during the First World War.

Cleese studied Law at Downing College, Cambridge, but his life took a very different direction when he joined the legendary university comedy society Cambridge Footlights.

It was there that he met Graham Chapman, beginning one of the most important writing partnerships in British comedy.

The Monty Python phenomenon

In 1969, Cleese joined Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam to create Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

The television series fundamentally changed the language of comedy. Sketches did not always need conventional punchlines. Scenes could suddenly stop, collapse into absurdity or be interrupted by animation. Authority figures, the establishment, bureaucracy, religion and British social conventions all became targets.

Cleese’s imposing height — around 1.96 metres — and his naturally severe appearance made the absurd physical comedy even funnier.

Some of his most famous sketches include “Dead Parrot,” “The Argument Clinic” and, of course, “The Ministry of Silly Walks,” in which he portrayed a painfully serious civil servant performing increasingly ridiculous movements.

Although Cleese left the television series after its third season, he continued working with the group on the Monty Python films, including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life.

Basil Fawlty: the character that became immortal

After Monty Python came another character who would become almost inseparable from Cleese himself: Basil Fawlty.

Cleese created and co-wrote Fawlty Towers with his then-wife Connie Booth, who also played Polly in the series.

Basil was a neurotic, snobbish, short-tempered hotel owner who was permanently one step away from a nervous breakdown.

Remarkably, only 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers were ever made, across two series broadcast in 1975 and 1979.

Yet those 12 episodes were enough to secure its position as one of the most celebrated television comedies ever produced in Britain.

The film that nearly brought him an Oscar

In 1988, Cleese co-wrote and starred in A Fish Called Wanda, alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and fellow Monty Python member Michael Palin.

The film became an international success.

Cleese won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor, while his screenplay received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

He later became familiar to younger audiences through major Hollywood productions.

In the Harry Potter films, he played Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor House.

He also entered the James Bond universe, first appearing as Q’s assistant — nicknamed “R” — in The World Is Not Enough, before taking over the role of Q in Die Another Day.

His distinctive voice was also heard in the Shrek films, in which he played King Harold.

Four marriages and two daughters

Cleese’s private life has been almost as eventful as his professional career.

He has been married four times.

His first wife was actress and writer Connie Booth, with whom he had his daughter Cynthia Cleese.

He later married American actress Barbara Trentham, with whom he had his second daughter, Camilla Cleese, who also became a comedian.

His third marriage was to psychotherapist Alyce Faye Eichelberger.

That divorce became particularly famous because of the size of the financial settlement. Cleese later joked that he had returned to extensive touring partly to pay for it, naming one of his tours “The Alimony Tour.”

Since 2012, he has been married to jewellery designer Jennifer Wade, who is more than 30 years younger than him.

Psychotherapy, creativity and controversy

A lesser-known aspect of Cleese’s life is his long-standing interest in psychology and psychotherapy.

He has spoken openly about undergoing therapy for many years and about how understanding his childhood and his relationship with his mother affected the way he viewed his own behaviour and personal relationships.

His interest went much further than personal therapy.

Together with psychiatrist Robin Skynner, Cleese co-authored books exploring psychology, families and relationships, including Families and How to Survive Them.

In more recent years, Cleese has also become an outspoken commentator on freedom of expression, political correctness and the limits of comedy.

His views have frequently generated both strong support and criticism — something Cleese himself has rarely appeared reluctant to provoke.

Still performing at 87

The title “Last Time To See Me Before I Die” may sound like a farewell.

But it is also entirely characteristic of a comedian who has spent more than 60 years turning uncomfortable subjects — anger, embarrassment, failure, divorce, old age and even death — into comedy.

John Cleese will perform at Eleftheria Arena in Nicosia on Tuesday, 10 November 2026.

For Cypriot audiences, it is a rare opportunity to see in person one of the surviving architects of a comedy movement whose influence can still be found across television, film and stand-up today.