Michael Palin on the way with tales of the Philippines
City date for travelling 'Python'
Inveterate traveller Sir Michael Palin is hitting the road again – not bound for foreign climes but on a UK tour that will bring him to Newcastle’s Tyne Theatre & Opera House on October 29.
The ‘Monty Python’ legend is embarking on a 13-date autumn tour to talk about the Philippines.
He will share stories from his latest TV series, Michael Palin in the Philippines, which is due to air in September on Channel 5.
Previous series broadcast on Channel 5 have followed his adventures in Venezuela, Nigeria, Iraq and North Korea.
Of this latest series, again produced by ITN Productions and to be shown in three episodes, each an hour long, the 83-year-old said: “I find these journeys for 5 irresistible and revealing.
“Rarely does anyone have the chance to get as close to the great issues of a country as we did in the Philippines.
“I was a little nervous of taking on yet another journey, especially one so testing on the energy levels, but what we heard and saw was extraordinary and very different from any of the journeys we’ve done so far.
“A cracker, though I say it myself.”
The book accompanying the series, bearing the same title, is being published by Hutchinson Heinemann and copies will be on sale at each theatre on the tour.
Sir Michael said he was delighted to be taking his Philippines adventure on the road since it would give him a chance to open up on stuff that isn’t going to appear on screen.
“Every journey leaves me with stories that never quite make it into the television programmes and I always enjoy the chance to share those moments with a live audience,” he said.
“Alongside the films and photographs from my travels, I’ll be talking about the remarkable people I met, the extraordinary places I visited and some of the unexpected adventures along the way.
“I hope audiences will feel as though they’ve travelled with me and perhaps leave seeing the Philippines in a completely new light.”
Using photos and film footage taken on the expedition, he will reflect on his travels across the Philippine archipelago, which comprises 7,641 islands.
Arriving in the capital, Manila, he found a country on the edge.
The current president, Bongbong, is the son of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos whose 21-year rule ended in 1986 with an alleged $10 billion theft from the nation’s coffers.
Meanwhile previous president Rodrigo Duterte is under arrest accused of crimes against humanity.
The programme makers say that while many see the Philippines as a lovely holiday destination, it’s a nation where beauty exists alongside profound social and political challenges.
On his travels Michael witnessed the escalating tensions between Philippine and Chinese coastal vessels, gaining a unique perspective on a politically charged and historically complex country.
Neil Ferguson, series producer and director for ITN, said: “This was the most ambitious shoot we’ve ever done with Michael and the Philippines exceeded all our expectations.
“It’s a country of stunning contrasts and we often experienced paradise one day, followed by something much darker the next.
“And whether it was political protest marches, military flights to remote islands, sleeping on the deck of overnight ferries or swimming with thousands of sardines, Michael took it all in his ridiculously nimble stride.”
Michael Palin made his name as a founder member of Monty Python’s Flying Circus which re-wrote the rules of TV comedy in the early 1970s.
Once a ‘Python’ always a ‘Python’, but Palin the Python has been making travel documentaries for much longer than he was appearing in madcap TV sketches.
His first was back in 1980 when he appeared in an episode of Great Railway Journeys of the World, reminiscing about his youthful trainspotting days while travelling north from London by train on a route which took him through Newcastle.
His latest UK theatre tour begins on October 7 in Newbury.
Tickets for his Newcastle appearance on October 29 (7.30pm) can be bought now via the Tyne Theatre website.