A screening of 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' followed by an audience Q&A and conversation with John Cleese.
John Cleese is coming to the Grand Opera House York on Tuesday 8 September 2026, for a night built around Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The evening starts with a screening of the film on the big screen, and once the credits roll, Cleese stays on for a Q&A and a conversation with the audience. It's a two-part thing: the movie first, then the man himself talking about it.
Most of us know Cleese as the voice of Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, but his career goes back much further than that. He started in the mid-1960s with the BBC Light Programme show I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again, and from there he co-founded Monty Python's Flying Circus with Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Graham Chapman, and Carol Cleveland. Together they gave us the sketches that still get quoted decades later, like the Ministry of Silly Walks.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail was one of their biggest leaps, and having Cleese there to talk through it afterwards is the real draw. He'll be sharing behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the film, so you'll get the inside track on how it all came together. It's a chance to hear from one of the people who was actually there, rather than just reading about it in a book.
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The Grand Opera House York has been a home for West End theatre, comedy, and musicals since 1902, and over the years it's hosted names like Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, and Charlie Chaplin. The screening starts at 7:00pm, and tickets are £53.96.
