Terry Jones exhibition to open in Colwyn Bay
- The Life Of Brian Terry (& Friends) will be in Colwyn Bay from 10th December 2024 to 1st February 2025
- The exhibition will feature the Monty Python star's own photos, plus notebooks, scripts, storyboards and more
- It's part of a fundraising drive for a statue. His daughter says: "It's lovely to get the opportunity to show some real gems from dad's archive"
Never seen before 'gems' from the personal archive of Monty Python star Terry Jones are to be exhibited in Colwyn Bay from 10th December 2024 to 1st February 2025.
The exhibition, titled The Life Of Brian Terry (& Friends), will be held at Oriel Colwyn in the north Wales town, a gallery space dedicated to photography and photographic works.
Oriel Colwyn is housed within the same building as Theatr Colwyn, a place very close to Terry's heart. His parents and grandparents performed there and Terry became Theatr Colwyn's very first patron.
The exhibition is being organised by Oriel Colwyn curator Paul Sampson and is linked to A Python On The Prom, the campaign to raise £120,000 to install a statue of the comedy star on the promenade.
The family of the late comedian, and the surviving Monty Python team, are lending over 100 photos and other items from their archives, with a focus on Terry's own personal photos from throughout his career as well as behind-the-scenes photographs from the films and TV shows. Also included will be rarely seen pages of Terry's original notebooks, including his children's stories and the film Labyrinth, alternative lyrics to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, scribbled on pages from his original Life Of Brian script, his hand drawn storyboards for Monty Python's 1981 film The Meaning Of Life as well many other notes and jottings from his long and varied career.
Paul Sampson says: "I've been lucky to have had an amazing glimpse into Terry's life whilst curating the exhibition from the many family, personal and career photographs in the family archive.
"It has been a real pleasure to work through this treasure trove of photography, of which many of the images have never before been seen. By combining these photos with other items, memorabilia and ephemera from Terry's film and TV shows, we have created a unique exhibition which allows us to share memories and stories with you from The Life Of Terry.
"For fans of Monty Python and Terry's writing and humour, this special exhibition is truly one not to be missed!"
Sally Jones, Terry's daughter, who is working on the A Python On The Prom campaign alongside Conwy Arts Trust, comments: "It's lovely to get the opportunity to show some real gems from dad's archive. Since dad passed, I've been sorting through all of his photos and papers and have been discovering little drawings, early versions of Python sketches and completely new material. I have been sharing some of these on dad's old Twitter/X account @PythonJones, but it's not the same as seeing the real items themselves. It's fascinating to see the crossing out, scribbling over and crude cartoons bringing to life the stories and sketches that we all know and love."
Full exhibition opening times will be available via the Oriel Colwyn website. Tickets will be £5. To donate to A Python On The Prom visit GoFundMe.com