Dead Parrot

One of the many highlights of British television history is the Dead Parrot sketch from Monty Python’s Flying Circus, also known as the Pet Shop sketch. Written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman, the 1969 sketch features a non-existent species of parrot, the Norwegian Blue, and is a satire on poor customer service. It depicts a bickering dispute between disgruntled customer Mr. Praline (John Cleese) and a shopkeeper (Michael Palin). They argue over whether a recently purchased parrot is actually dead.

Praline tries to wake the parrot, while the shopkeeper tries to get it to move by hitting its cage. Praline’s various euphemisms for death are memorable, such as “No longer there,” “Ceased to exist,” “Taken from life, rest in peace,” and “Is an ex-parrot.” Ultimately, he is told to go to the shopkeeper’s brother’s pet shop in Bolton for a refund. He travels to Bolton, but finds himself in the exact same shop as before, with his cage on the floor.

The sketch has been performed on various occasions over the years. At the funeral of Chapman, who died young, Cleese said: “Graham Chapman is no more. He has ceased to be, bereft of life, he rests in peace, he has kicked the bucket, hopped the twig, bit the dust, snuffed it, breathed his last, and gone to meet the Great Head of Light Entertainment in the sky.” Margaret Thatcher was also an enthusiast and used the sketch in a speech at the Conservative Party conference in 1990, referring to the Liberal Democrats as their symbol, a dove.

I was recently reminded of the sketch when, while walking through the ruins of the National Maritime Museum and Devonport House in Greenwich, I saw a small pedestal with a dead parrot, a white bronze cockatoo with a blue beak and a yellow crest, resting on its back. The artwork was created in 2009 by John Reardon. The artist has never revealed what “Monument for a Dead Parrot,” as it’s called, represents or why the word “China” appears on its chest, but it’s believed to be a tribute to the famous sketch.