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Victoria goes crazy for Cleese as famed British comic adds fifth show here

John Cleese has added a fifth Victoria show to his Last Time to See Me Before I Die tour, making it one of the most popular solo shows in Victoria history, according to organizers.
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John Cleese: Unprecedented demand for tickets for the star of Fawlty Towers and Monty Python.

John Cleese has added a fifth Victoria show to his Last Time to See Me Before I Die tour, making it one of the most popular solo shows in Victoria history, according to organizers.

Tickets to the British comic’s third and fourth performances at the 772- seat McPherson Playhouse were snapped up in record time Monday, with the Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 performances selling out within three minutes of going on sale.

“That’s the fastest we’ve ever seen,” said Melissa O’Shea, box office manager for the McPherson Playhouse. “For a show in this demographic and this genre, it’s the fastest we’ve ever had.”

Tickets are on sale now for his newly announced fifth Victoria show on Oct. 13.

O’Shea is confident that the remaining Cleese tickets will be scooped up immediately. His initial dates, on Oct. 22 and 23, sold out within two days of going on sale May 3.

Cleese’s incredible popularity in this market isn’t a surprise to University of Victoria English professor Kim Blank, who considers Victoria prime territory for the 73-year-old British comic. “A middle-class, well-educated city with a bit of the faux British running through its ivied veins, and with boomer-yuppies ruling the cultural roost, is the perfect place for Cleese to sell tickets,” Blank said.

Victoria isn’t the only city going crazy for Cleese. Each city on his inaugural Canadian tour is presenting multiple dates. Edmonton leads the way with six, and almost every stop is sold out. He starts the tour on Sept. 12 in Halifax, then goes to Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria for the additional shows during what was supposed to be a brief break, back to Calgary, Victoria again, and then Vancouver, where he is scheduled to wrap up on Oct. 27.

The popularity of Cleese’s work over the years, from British sitcom Fawlty Towers to sketch comedy troupe Monty Python’s Flying Circus, has left an indelible mark on his fans. “So now, when we go to hear him tell tales and answer questions about his work, these are tales about ourselves, and we cosy up to them,” Blank said.

In Victoria, only tickets to see Grammy Award winner Nelly Furtado at the McPherson in 2001 have sold at a faster clip.

“This amount of demand is unprecedented for one act,” O’Shea said. “We knew the third one would [sell out], but not as fast as it did. [For] the fourth one to go that quickly was a surprise.”

To purchase tickets ($65), go to rmts.bc.ca. For more information, go to hahaha.com/johncleese.

mdevlin@timescolonist.com