A TREASURE trove of unseen artefacts from the career of Colwyn Bay's most famous son - Monty Python's Terry Jones - will be revealed for the first time at Oriel Colwyn.

In a world first the exhibition, entitled The Life Of Brian, Terry (& Friends), will see more than 100 photos and other items from Terry's archive displayed publicly. 

The focus will be on Terry’s own personal photos throughout his career, as well as behind the scenes photographs from his films and TV shows.

Included are rarely seen pages of Terry’s original notebooks, including ideas for his children’s stories and the classic film Labyrinth starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connolly, which Jones wrote the screenplay for.

Also included in the collection are alternative lyrics to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, pages from his original Life of Brian script - complete with handwritten notes and scribbles, his hand drawn storyboards for Monty Python’s 1981 film The Meaning of Life plus many other notes and jottings from his long and varied career.

The exhibition has been organised by Paul Sampson, Curator of Oriel Colwyn in partnership with Terry’s family and the Monty Python archive to support the A Python on the Prom campaign and will run from Tuesday, December 10 to Saturday, February 1.

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Entry costs £5 with proceeds going towards the A Python On The Prom campaign and opening times can be found here. Launched by Terry's children Sally and Bill Jones in partnership with Conwy Arts Trust, Conwy County Borough Council and Theatr Colwyn, the campaign aims to raise £120,000 to create a statue of Terry on Colwyn Bay promenade. 

Currently the fund stands at £99,207, with all the remaining Pythons - Sir Michael Palin, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, supporting it alongside celebrities including Steve Coogan, Emma Thompson, Conan O'Brien, Damon Hill, Jo Brand and Alex Horne. Donations can still be made here.

"I’ve been lucky to have had an amazing glimpse into Terry’s life whilst curating the exhibition from the many family, personal and career photographs in the family archive," said Paul. 

"It has been a real pleasure to work through this treasure trove of photography, with many of the images having never been seen before. By combining these photos with other items, memorabilia and ephemera from Terry’s film and TV shows, we have created a unique exhibition which allows us to share memories and stories with you from the life of Terry.

"For fans of Monty Python and Terry’s writing and humour, this special exhibition is truly one not to be missed."

Sally Jones, Terry’s daughter, said: "It’s lovely to get the opportunity to show some real gems from Dad’s archive. Since he passed, I’ve been sorting through all of his photos and papers and have been discovering little drawings, early versions of Python sketches and completely new material.

"I have been sharing some of these on Dad’s old Twitter/X account @PythonJones, but it’s not the same as seeing the real items themselves. It's fascinating to see the crossing out, scribbling over and crude cartoons bringing to life the stories and sketches that we all know and love." 

Oriel Colwyn is a gallery space which shares a building with Theatr Colwyn - a theatre close to Terry's heart. 

His parents and grandparents performed there and after he became successful Terry became Theatr Colwyn’s very first patron. Oriel Colwyn's very first exhibition included an early photo of Terry on Colwyn Bay beach age two-and-a-half.

Terry and Paul met on many occasions and the A Python on the Prom logo was created using a photograph taken by Paul. 

Full exhibition opening times are available via the Oriel Colwyn website.