Comedian John Cleese, one of the minds behind celebrated works such as Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, is inviting audiences to take a behind-the-scenes look at life on the road as an 85-year-old touring comedian in a new documentary, as he visits 16 European cities and performs 23 shows across six weeks.
In ‘John Cleese Packs It In’, join Cleese as he embarks on what may be his final European tour. This 90-minute film, which will be screened in over 350 cinemas across the UK, captures an unfiltered Cleese as he battles various ailments, encounters chaotic travel and grapples with his own stubborn refusal to stop.
Over the course of six weeks, the film captures Cleese reflecting on his career, which began in 1963, as well as life, fame, and growing older in the public eye. Unique and intimate in its access to Cleese, ‘John Cleese Packs It In’ explores legacy, laughter and bowing out.
Commenting on ‘Packs It In’, John Cleese said “For the first time, audiences will see a different side to me - not just the dashing, devil-may-care, devastatingly handsome bon viveur, but also the decrepit, addled, nasty old geriatric that my PR team work day and night to hide from the public.
You will see with your own eyes what it’s really like for a moribund 85 year old to struggle through a 23-city European tour, desperately trying to squeeze a few laughs from audiences who are clearly disappointed that they’ve wasted their hard-earned cash on over-priced tickets.
This hatchet job is not just shocking, it's also hilarious, as audiences everywhere laugh, not with me, but at me.”
Throughout his career John Cleese has helped usher in a new era of comedy with his genre-defining shows and films. From starting out with the Cambridge Footlights, to co-founding Monty Python and co-creating Fawlty Towers, to writing and starring in the Oscar-nominated ‘A Fish Called Wanda’, his wry, black humour has made him a global comedy icon.
As well as starring in fan-favourite roles in the Harry Potter, James Bond and Shrek franchises, Cleese’s film credits include ‘Rat Race’, ‘Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’ and ‘Silverado’. Cleese has received two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award and has been nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
John Travers of CinemaLive, distributors of the film in cinemas, said: “We're genuinely excited to be working alongside Medium Sized Fish Productions to share this incredible documentary about John Cleese in cinemas later this year. We can't wait for audiences to meet the man behind the comedy legend.”
John Cleese Packs It In will be showing In UK Cinemas From Thursday 13th November 2025.
Tickets available from www.johncleeseincinemas.com
