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Ways With Words 2012: Michael Palin is star talker

Michael Palinwill be talking about his new novel, The Truth, at the Telegraph Ways With Words Festival at Dartington Hall, Devon, in July.

The former Monty Python comedian, film actor, writer, TV presenter and raconteur will be appearing on the opening day of the festival, Friday 6th July 2012, and tickets went on sale to the general public today. Palin’s novel, about a writer called Keith Mabbut, is set in London and India and is published the day before his festival talk.

The festival, held at the beautiful Dartington Hall near Totnes, will run until 16th July and features more than 150 speakers including Hilary Mantel, John McCarthy, Julian Clary, Jung Chang, Jenny Eclair, P.D. James, Claire Tomalin and Michael Frayn.

There will also be a Telegraph Question time event about the London 2012 Olympics. In addition, broadcaster Jeremy Vine will look back over a quarter of a century at the BBC, and David Lammy MP will explore the state of Britain in the wake of last summer’s riots.

The Ways With Words Festival is now in its 21st year and Festival President Roy Hattersley said: “Uniquely among British festivals, Ways With Words offers a chance for speakers and listeners to meet and continue the huge variety of talks and discussions which fill the days. And it all happens in the wonderful setting of Dartington Hall.”

Comic actor John Cleese signs on to Israeli film

British comic actor John Cleese has signed on to a film by Israeli director Reshef Levi.

Cleese will play a disgraced, eccentric British lord in the heist comedy Hunting Elephants, in which three Israeli senior citizens help a 12-year-old boy hatch a plan to rob a bank in order to save his family home.

Cleese’s participation was announced last week at the Cannes Film Festival and reported first by the Hollywood Reporter.

The veteran comic actor will be busy this year as he is set to reunite with his Monty Python co-stars for a new film project. Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin and Terry Jones will reform the legendary comedy ensemble for the science-fiction comedy Absolutely Anything, TheWrap confirmed in January.

Jones will direct the film, with Cleese, Palin and Gilliam playing aliens and possibly several other additional roles, in true Python tradition.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if all the Pythons(And cardboard Graham) would sit down and watch Holy Flying Circus together, film it, and then put it out on youtube?? lol

Poor John.

True.