Cleese here for 'test run'

John Cleese is heading back to New Zealand for more inspiration.

The veteran English comedian, whose classic character Basil Fawlty was purportedly inspired by a New Zealand hotelier he encountered, is heading here for the first performances of a new one-man show.

Cleese aims to bring Seven Ways To Skin An Ocelot here in November and December for "previews".

He says that after a test run he may rewrite the show before taking it to Australia and California early next year.

The tour was announced in a newsletter Cleese sends to members of his website.

It said: "Although we refer to it as a one-man show it will also feature various Cleese underlings, flunkeys, retainers, daughters, sidekicks, minions, cat's-paws and cronies (and probably a few hangers-on too), so it should really be called a several-person show.

"Cleese has no idea what the show will be like yet, but he and daughter Camilla have written the first four minutes - and first impressions are that the show is going to be very, very, violent."