Airdate: Holy Flying Circus

This Wednesday night ABC1 screens a movie, Holy Flying Circus, a dramatisation of the blasphemy row that surrounded the film Monty Python’s Life Of Brian.

In 1979, the film Monty Python’s Life Of Brian caused outrage around the world. The film depicted the life of Brian Cohen, a first-century Judean who is mistaken for the Messiah after joining an anti-Roman group.

Nuns with banners picketed cinemas, councils banned the film without even seeing it and the religious group Festival of Light organised a concerted campaign against the film, trying to get it banned.

Against this backdrop Michael Palin and John Cleese found themselves facing prominent society figures Malcolm Muggeridge and the Bishop of Southwark, Mervyn Stockwood, in a television debate in front of a live studio audience to defend their film against charges of blasphemy: but who won?

Witty and humorous in tone, the comedy drama incorporates surreal cutaways including puppetry and animation in telling its narrative.

Written by Tony Roche(In The Loop, The Thick Of It) it stars Darren Boyd, Charles Edwards, Steve Punt, Rufus Jones, Tom Fisher, Phil Nichol, Stephen Fry, Simon Greenall, Michael Cochrane, Roy Marsden and Paul Chahidi.

9pm Wednesday ABC1