The real Ministry of Silly Walks: Pranksters recreate iconic Monty Python sketch with improvised street sign in Norwegian town



It has long been deemed one of the most famous sketches in comedy history.

Over four decades on from its first appearance on television in 1970 as the fruit of the inventive brains of the BBC’s legendary comedy troupe Monty Python’s Flying Circus, The Ministry Of Silly Walks is still a benchmark for outlandish physical comedy.

Old school laughs: Kreativiteket created the sign in homage to Monty Python's iconic Ministry Of Silly Walks



The original joke showed members of the Python team – including John Cleese – striding out in ridiculous styles, with exaggerated footsteps and jerky mannerisms.

And the daft process is still so loved that it has produced a real-life version in Norway.

Earlier this month, a Swedish art group installed a sign, inspired by the Ministry Of Silly Walks, in the little Norwegian town of Ørje.

Outrageous behaviour: The sign was installed next to a pedestrian crossing in the Norwegian town of Ørje

Game for a laugh: Residents took up the challenge - but the art group were told to take the sign down

Kreativiteket hoped that their blue-and-white road marking – showing a man high-stepping across a pedestrian crossing – would encourage passers-by to copy the likes of Cleese and Michael Palin by performing their own versions of their unusual amblings.

And so it proved, with people in Ørje – which lies some 50 miles south-east of Oslo, near the Swedish border – taking to the crossing point with admirable verve.

‘It's just for fun. There’s no deep thought behind it,’ said Reidar Johannes Søby of Kreativiteket.

‘People live in their ordinary lives, and when they see this sign, maybe they can have a little smile on their face. That's all.’

Sadly, while the joke was much enjoyed by residents, the authorities were less amused.

Down through the years: The Monty Python sketch which inspired the joke was first broadcast in 1970

Although the local council gave permission for the stunt, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration refused to crack a smile, pointing out that the sign could be confusing.