John Cleese breaks down how Monty Python scrapped 97 percent of Holy Grail's first draft
The Python co-creator shared the chaos behind the 1975 film at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre, explaining how Michael Palin's coconut gag became the creative breakthrough that saved the script.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
John Cleese brought his Not Dead Yet! tour to Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre for three nights, pairing screenings of Monty Python and the Holy Grail with a live conversation and audience Q&A. The last of the three shows on October 1 ran three hours, including the film, an intermission, and an hour-long discussion hosted by Toronto film critic Richard Crouse.
Cleese spent much of the evening recounting the chaos of making the 1975 film. The six Pythons—Cleese, the late Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin—had no idea how to make a feature when they started. "We knew we were good at sketches, but we didn't know how to do a film, how to make a story," Cleese said.
After arguing for several days, they wrote a draft, reunited to review it, and found it "absolutely awful." Everything changed when Palin pitched one scene: his coconut gag, which opens the film and threads throughout. "When he read that, we all said, 'That's what the film's about,'" Cleese recalled. Ultimately, they discarded approximately 97 percent of the first draft. The coconuts stayed.
In a 2017 BBC poll of international film critics ranking the top 100 funniest comedies of all time, Holy Grail ranked No. 15 and Life of Brian No. 6. "Only time you have two in the first 15, not bad, eh?" Cleese noted, adding that Life of Brian "is the superior film" and he'd "just come back" and do that show next time. The tour continues in Ottawa on October 9 and 10 before returning to the U.S. in 2027.
The details
Where did John Cleese perform on this tour?
John Cleese performed at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre for three nights, with the final show on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
How long was the last show?
The final performance ran three hours, comprising the film screening, an intermission, and an hour-long discussion hosted by Toronto film critic Richard Crouse.
What percentage of Holy Grail's first draft made it to the final film?
Approximately three percent of the first draft survived; the Monty Python team discarded about 97 percent after finding it 'absolutely awful' until Michael Palin pitched the coconut gag, which became the creative breakthrough.
