The film Life of Brian will debut in London theaters next year. But the Monty Python classic, released in 1979, will be missing one of its most iconic scenes: the Loretta scene. In it, one of the characters states that he is a woman because he wants to have children.
John Cleese, one of the members of Monty Python, explained that during a script reading for the new version in New York, American actors commented that they had loved the text "but you can't do that stuff about Loretta nowadays," according to the Daily Mail. Cleese expressed surprise at this complaint:
So here you have something there's never been a complaint about in 40 years, that I've heard of, and now all of a sudden we can't do it because it'll offend people. What is one supposed to make of that? But I think there were a lot of things that were actually, in some strange way, predictive of what was actually going to happen later.
The censored scene
One character, Stan, says "I want to be a woman." "From now on, I want you all to call me Loretta." When questioned, he argues that it is his right as a man. And why does he want to be Loretta? "I want to have babies."
When another character, Reg - played by Cleese himself - points out to her that he cannot give birth, Stan asks him not to oppress him. Reg then mentions that she has no uterus in which to gestate the fetus.
Another character tries to settle the discussions with a compromise: it is true that being a man he cannot give birth, but he can still have the right to give birth. "It is symbolic of our struggle against oppression," Reg is told when he protests, to which he replies that, in reality, "it's a symbol of his struggle against reality." A preview of the censorship that the scene itself will experience more than 40 years later.
The famous ‘Loretta’ scene from Life of Brian - in which Stan says he wants to be known as a woman and have babies and later claims oppression when met with biological fact - will be cut from the London stage production over fears of invoking the fury of the deranged. pic.twitter.com/JFicvVEISD
— That Asshole from the Home Office (@AssholeHome) May 20, 2023
Brian's 'new' life
The film's reversal will feature several changes in addition to the removal of Loretta's scene. An opening scene they had written for the original film, but did finally omitted, will be added.
In addition, there will be a new character: Fiona Pilate, Pilate's wife, who will fall in love with the protagonist. Cleese also said that Brian will not be crucified, but that he will still sing along with the song Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.
