Monty Python bestride the world of humour as comic colossi, crushing their rivals like the giant animated Cupid foot in the opening titles of the original BBC TV series. They're the comedy Beatles, collectively or individually responsible for such masterpieces as Life Of Brian, Fawlty Towers, Brazil, All You Need Is Cash, The Holy Grail, Ripping Yarns, Twelve Monkeys, Rutland Weekend Television, A Fish Called Wanda and Time Bandits, not to mention globe-spanning travel documentaries, books on medieval history, operas, mental health self-help guides, countless memoirs and autobiographies, as well as inspiring Ben & Jerry's Vermonty Python coffee liquer, chocolate cookie and fudge cows ice cream and giving unsolicited junk mail its name.

This week, Eric Idle's musical Spamalot is playing at Brighton's Theatre Royal until 26th June. This dovetails nicely with the DVD release of Not The Messiah (He's A Very Naughty Boy), a live recording of the one-off show that did for Life Of Brian what Spamalot did for Holy Grail ('loving ripped it off', as Idle puts it). Co-created by Idle and John Du Prez, the song oratorio Not The Messiah was staged at London's Albert Hall last October and featured a rare onstage reunion of all the living Python members (except John Cleese, who was touring with his own stand-up show) as they celebrated their 40th anniversary.

Parodying Handel, Bob Dylan and, of course, themselves, the Python team seem to be having the time of their lives over the course of Not The Messiah's 90 minutes, obviously delighting in the opportunity to 'be silly on a mass scale'. Ably supported by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, opera singers, bagpipes and some sheep, Michael 'Betty' Palin looks very fetching in a Thatcheresque bouffant and ball gown, Terry Jones is brilliant as a revolutionary Welsh miner, and even the toughest chewer on life's gristle will be won over by the closing Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life singalong.

Not The Messiah (He's A Very Naughty Boy) (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) is out now on Blu-ray and DVD. Tickets for Spamalot are available from www.ambassadortickets.com/Brighton or call 0844 871 7627.

Colin Houlson