As a comedy troupe, the Monty Python team has been sharing enduring stories since its formation in 1969. Some plot points, however, would be subject to criticism presented to modern audiences. However, as comedian and Monty Python co-founder John Cleese readies to present Life of Brian to a modern stage, he says that a more delicate scene will not be removed, despite probably being politically incorrect.
Cleese’s announcement comes after reports incorrectly indicated that he planned on removing a sensitive scene from his upcoming Life of Brian adaptation. Life of Brian was originally a comedy film that released in 1979 and tells the story of a young Roman-Jewish man who is born on the same day as the next-door neighbor of Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken as the actual Messiah. However, the scene under scrutiny deals with transgender representation in media.
The “Loretta” scene in ‘Life of Brian’ may be deemed politically incorrect today
In the original Life of Brian, a male character declares his desire to be known as a woman named Loretta, adding that he would also then want to have a child. Cleese’s character calls the notion ridiculous, while another character advocates for the would-be Loretta.
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Eric Idle, who plays Stan, the individual who wants to become Loretta, argues, “I want to be a woman. … It’s my right as a man,” adding, “I want to have babies… It’s every man’s right to have babies if he wants them.” When Cleese’s character again protests, Stan fires back with, “Don’t you oppress me!”
These days, gender identity has become a more nuanced topic, making a Life of Brian scene like this potentially politically incorrect today. Initially, media outlets reported that, because of this new social climate, the scene would, ultimately, be left on the cutting room floor as Cleese brings it to the stage. However, he’s since clarified the situation and the scene is going nowhere.
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Because of the Loretta scene’s content and some misconstrued statements, it seemed certain the scene would end up cut. “A few days ago I spoke to an audience outside London. I told them I was adapting the Life of Brian so that we could do it as a stage show (NOT a musical ),” said Cleese in a tweet addressing the error. “I said that we’d had a table-reading of the latest draft in NYC a year ago and that all the actors – several of them Tony winners – had advised me strongly to cut the Loretta scene.” He formally clarified, “I have, of course, no intention of doing so.”
“So here you have something there’s never been a complaint about in 40 years, that I’ve heard of, and now all of a sudden we can’t do it because it’ll offend people,” said Cleese. “What is one supposed to make of that?”
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Cleese continued, “These were absolutely top-class Broadway performers and they were adamant that we would not get away with doing the scene in NYC! Producers tend to be scaredy-cats, and they don’t remember that the protests in NYC when ‘Brian’ was released meant we never needed to do publicity!!”
Cleese has also defended Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, who has become a vocal critic against transgender rights, and said he is “not that interested in trans folks.”