Looking for a night of laughter? Look no more. The legendary British comic John Cleese will perform a live stand-up in Bangkok for the first time on Friday at KBank Siam Pic-Ganesha, Siam Square One.
As part of his Asia tour, Cleese will make a stop for a show in Bangkok before heading to Hong Kong and Singapore. The veteran comedian, who's also an actor, is loved all over the world for his dark humour and wit. He has had roles in films and TV shows since the 1970s, including cult films such as Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life, The Life Of Brian and the memorable television series Fawlty Towers.
Cleese won a BAFTA for Best Actor in A Fish Called Wanda where he played opposite Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline. He has also appeared in James Bond movies like The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
Life recently caught up with the 83-year-old via Zoom for an exclusive one-on-one interview where Cleese talked about his show, humour, his experience touring the world and the best remedy for jet lag.
How's your Asia tour going so far?
Well, I'm starting in Taiwan. I've never been there and I've always wanted to go, so I'm delighted about that. And then I will be in Bangkok. Then, I will visit Hong Kong and then down to Singapore. So I've got four shows. I don't know what audiences will be like as I don't perform much in Asia. Sometimes I perform for audiences that seem to be almost entirely expats -- British, Australian, American. Other times the audience is much more mixed, but it's very hard, very hard to predict.
I hear that you have been on vacation in Thailand several times before. What are some of the best memories you remember about the country?
I think the most exciting moment was when I went up to Chiang Mai. I watched the working elephants there and I thought that was really very touching. I remember I also saw a field full of heroin poppies which I took photographs of [laughs]. I've been to Thailand many times, you know, for holidays and all that. I think everybody knows that the Thais are extraordinarily friendly people. They have a very interesting Buddhist culture, which everyone respects. The food is also wonderful, so there's not much to complain about.
Can you share some of the topics and themes you're going to talk about at the upcoming Bangkok show?
I have a lot of very funny stories because most of them are pretty crazy. I think I'll talk about hotels I have stayed at and some stuff about designers because I don't like designers and I get to be rude about them. At some point, I'll also be talking about the fact that we all die and everybody gets upset about it. There will also be stuff about what offends people because I've always offended people from the 1960s. Everything I did, there was always somebody who was offended. It's an interesting subject because what offends people changes from decade to decade.
How much do you still enjoy flying and touring across continents these days?
I don't know anything that I hate as much as flying. And of course on this trip I'm going to be flying quite a lot. Even in first class, it's surprising how bad the seats are made, particularly British Airways. It's because the designers never talked to the flight attendants who would actually be able to tell them what to do with the space they have. I just hate it because I'm 83 and I'm 1.95m, and it's sort of a little bit like those pilots in the Vietnam War. They used to put them in little bamboo cages so they couldn't get comfortable no matter how they sat. I think they're the same people who design seats for British Airways.
What are your best treatments for jet lag?
I try to get enough sleep. People say you should immediately go on to local time and what I find is I need sleep and so I get it when I feel like it. I don't force it. You know, the worst flight in the world for some reason is Los Angeles to London. And if I'm doing that I normally, if I can afford it, I stay in New York for three days to sort of break the worst of the jet lag.
Are there any countries or groups of people you find difficult to entertain and make them laugh?
Yeah, there's a general rule. The further you get from big cities, the quieter the audience gets. However, at the end, you get a reception that's as good as the ones you get in the big cities. So you kind of think, are they enjoying it in their own way? Are they applauding me for actually coming to the awful dump where they live? [laughs]
As a comedian who's been doing stand-up for many years, how do you think people's humour has changed, especially in this era of the internet and social media?
I think what you learn is that people have always been offended, but of course, they're offended by quite different things now. In the old days, I used to offend people who are more on the right because they made fun of, you know, sort of rigid power seekers. And now most of the offence seems to be on the left because they're trying to change the language and stop us using certain words. And I think they do not understand that human nature is not perfectible and trying to make everything better by legislating is not the way to go.
John Cleese Live In Bangkok 2023 will take place at KBank Siam Pic-Ganesha Theatre, Siam Square One, Rama I Road, on Friday. Tickets are from 2,500-5,000 baht (limited seats) and are available at all ThaiTicketMajor outlets. Visit livenation.co.th for more information.
