Cheese Shop sketch facts for kids
The Cheese Shop is a super famous and funny comedy sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus. It first appeared in an episode called "Salad Days" on November 30, 1972. This sketch is so popular that it was even put into a book of Monty Python scripts and performed again in live shows!
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How the Cheese Shop Sketch Started
The idea for this funny sketch came from a real-life moment! John Cleese, one of the Monty Python comedians, felt seasick after filming near Folkestone Harbour. On the way home, his friend Graham Chapman suggested he eat something. Cleese said he really wanted some cheese.
When they saw a chemist's shop (a pharmacy), Cleese wondered if it would sell cheese. Chapman joked that if it did, it would be "medicinal cheese" and Cleese would need a prescription! They both laughed and decided to write a sketch about it.
But then they thought, asking for cheese in a pharmacy was too silly without a good reason. So, they changed the idea. What if someone tried to buy cheese in a cheese shop that had NO cheese at all? That's how the famous sketch was born!
Cleese didn't think the sketch was funny at first. But Chapman insisted it was hilarious. When they showed it to the other Monty Python members, most weren't impressed. However, Michael Palin loved it so much he fell to the floor laughing! This made the others laugh, and they agreed to use the sketch.
What Happens in the Cheese Shop Sketch
In the sketch, John Cleese plays a very polite customer (Mr. Mousebender). He walks into "Ye National Cheese Emporium", which claims to sell "fine cheese to the gentry." But the shop owner, Mr. Arthur Wensleydale (played by Michael Palin), seems to have no cheese in stock! Not even cheddar, which is super popular.
As Cleese asks for more and more types of cheese, a slow, funny bouzouki music starts playing. Terry Jones and Graham Chapman even dance in the background wearing bowler hats! Cleese first likes the music, but as he gets more frustrated, he yells for it to stop.
Cleese lists many different cheeses, some very unusual, and even one that's made up! But the shop owner always has an excuse, like "Ohh! The cat's eaten it." Cleese points out it's not much of a cheese shop. Palin says it's the best because it's clean. Cleese replies, "Well, it's certainly uncontaminated by cheese."
Finally, Cleese asks if Palin has ANY cheese at all. Palin says "yes." Cleese then warns him that if he says "no" again, he will shoot him. Palin says "no" again, and Cleese immediately shoots him! Cleese then says, "What a senseless waste of human life!" He puts on a Stetson hat, and the sketch ends, leading into another funny part of the show.
Cheeses Mentioned
In the original sketch, 43 different types of cheese are mentioned! In later versions, like on the album The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief or the live show Monty Python Live (Mostly), even more cheeses were added, like Greek feta and Stinking Bishop.
|
Mentioned in original sketch Not mentioned in original sketch Mentioned together in one sentence, with only one reply |
| Cheese | Shop owner's reply | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Red Leicester | "I'm afraid we're fresh out of Red Leicester, sir." | Original |
| Tilsit | "Never at the end of the week, sir. Always get it fresh first thing on Monday." | Original |
| Caerphilly | "Ah well, it's been on order for two weeks, sir. I was expecting it this morning." | Original |
| Bel Paese | "Sorry." | Original |
| Red Windsor | "Normally, sir, yes, but today the van broke down." | Original |
| Stilton | "Sorry." | Original |
| Gruyère | "No." | Original |
| Emmental | "No." | Original |
| Norwegian Jarlsberg | "No." | Original |
| Liptauer | "No." | Original |
| Lancashire | "No." | Original |
| White Stilton | "No." | Original |
| Danish Blue | "No." | Original |
| Double Gloucester | (pause) "No." | Original |
| Cheshire | "No." | Original |
| Dorset Blue Vinney | "No." | Original |
| Brie | "No." | Original |
| Roquefort | "No." | Original |
| Pont l'Evêque | "No." | Original |
| Port Salut | "No." | Original |
| Savoyard | "No." | Original |
| Saint-Paulin | "No." | Original |
| Carré de l'Est | "No." | Original |
| Boursin | "No." | Original |
| Bresse-Bleu | "No." | Original |
| Perle de Champagne | "No." | Original |
| Camembert | "Ah! We do have some Camembert, sir... It's a bit runny, sir... Well, as a matter of fact it's very runny, sir... I think it's runnier than you like it, sir... Yes, sir." (looks below counter) "Oh...! The cat's eaten it." | Original |
| Gouda | "No." | Original |
| Edam | "No." | Original |
| Caithness | "No." | Original |
| Smoked Austrian | "No." | Original |
| Sage Derby | "No." ("You do have some cheese do you?") | Original |
| Wensleydale | "Yes, sir. ... Oh, I'm sorry sir, I thought you were referring to me, Mr Wensleydale." | Original |
| Greek feta | "Ah, not as such." | MT&H |
| Gorgonzola | "No." | Original |
| Parmesan | "No." | Original |
| Mozzarella | "No." | Original |
| Pipo Crem' | "No." | Original |
| Danish Fynbo | "No." | Original |
| Czechoslovakian sheep's milk cheese | "No." | Original |
| Venezuelan beaver cheese | "Not today, sir, no." | Original |
| Cheddar | "Well, I'm afraid we don't get much call for it around these parts." | Original |
| Ilchester | "I'll have a look sir." (looks around beneath counter) "No." | Original |
| Limburger | Customer: "Have you got...WILL YOU SHUT THAT BLOODY DANCING UP!?...have you got any Limburger?" Shop owner: "No." |
Original |
| Stinking Bishop | Customer: "Stinking Bishop?" (audience cheers) Shop owner: "No." |
Live (Mostly) |
| Any cheese at all | Shop owner: "Yes, sir." Customer: "Now, I'm going to ask you that question once more. And if you say no, I'm going to shoot you through the head. Now, do you have any cheese at all?" Shop owner: "No." (customer shoots cheese shop owner) |
Original |
The "Venezuelan Beaver Cheese" is a made-up cheese. But it's been mentioned in other funny places, like the Monty Python's The Meaning of Life computer game and the webcomic Triangle and Robert.
Other Funny Versions and References
The Cheese Shop sketch has inspired many other funny acts and references:
- In a Monty Python book, the sketch became a word game. One player names cheeses, and the other makes excuses. If the shopkeeper runs out of excuses, the customer wins!
- On the TV show The Young Ones, a character rushes into a shop asking if it's a cheese shop. The owner says "No," and the character jokes, "Well, that's that sketch knackered then, innit?"
- The comedy show Goodness Gracious Me made a parody called the "Asian Bride Shop" sketch. Instead of cheeses, they asked for different types of brides.
- The song "Albuquerque" by "Weird Al" Yankovic parodies the sketch in a doughnut shop. The shopkeeper ends up selling a box of "starving, crazed weasels"!
- In the cartoon Histeria!, a fake tea shop is set up during the Boston Tea Party. Each time a British guard asks for a type of tea, there's a splash, meaning the tea was just thrown into the harbor.
- A real wheel of Le Brouère cheese was flown into space on the first SpaceX Dragon 1 capsule in 2010, as a nod to this famous sketch!
- The first name for the main software storage for the Python computer language was "CheeseShop," inspired by this sketch.
