Monty Python to reunite for London one-off show in July 2014

Monty Python have announced their reunion will be a live, one-off show in London next July.

At a press conference, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones said they wanted to see if they “were still funny”.

Eric Idle – who will direct – said the audience should expect “comedy, pathos, music and a tiny piece of ancient s**”.

The stage show will be their first new project for three decades.

It is more than 30 years since the Pythons last performed together at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in September 1980, and 40 years since they last performed on stage in the UK.

In a press release issued ahead of the conference, the comedy troupe promised to perform “some of Monty Python’s greatest hits, with modern, topical, Pythonesque twists”.

Warwick Davis, who recently starred in the Monty Python-inspired musical Spamalot, introduced the “five legends” at the London’s Playhouse theatre, claiming the venue for the reunion had been decided after a series of bids.

Opening a series of gold envelopes, he claimed the winner was first, Qatar, then Meryl Streep.

Finally, Warwick Davis announced the show would take place in London at the O2 Arena on the 1 July, with tickets going on sale on November 25.

The top price for tickets will be £95 and the lowest will be £26.50 -“only £300 cheaper than the Stones”, quipped Eric Idle.