THE LAST LAUGH (Bob Golding as Eric Morecambe, Damian Williams as Tommy Cooper, and Simon Cartwright as Bob Monkhouse) Photo Pamela Raith.
The Last Laugh, Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham.
What started out as an Edinburgh Fringe show (which sold out) and ended up in the West End, The Last Laugh is now on a national tour.
This one act play brings together three of the most well known faces of old school British comedy.
We are joined first by Tommy Cooper (Damian Williams) who appears in a vest and y fronts – which he remains in for half of the play (with the addition of Cooper’s iconic fez of course). This sight is comedy enough as it is. Cooper is in his dressing room getting ready for a show. We’re not sure which show at first but it soon becomes clear. Williams is a joy as Cooper. He has the larger than life character down to a t and the audience warm to him immediately and he has them in the palm of his hands throughout. Often not even having to do anything.
He is then joined in the dressing room by Bob Monkhouse (Simon Cartwright). There’s nothing else to say here other than Cartwright IS Bob Monkhouse. He looks and sounds like like him so much that you believe you’re watching the man himself. He’s obviously spent years crafting this impersonation and it shows.
Finally they are joined by Eric Morecambe (Bob Golding). Again, Golding has obviously spent a great deal of time on this portrayal and he is bang on. He has all of Morecambe’s quirks and nuances and it’s easy to imagine you are watching the legend himself.
All three start to chat about their career and craft, share anecdotes, banter, poke fun at each other – conversations you can imagine would take place with three comedy greats in one room. It’s also a great device to get nuggets of information into the piece and tidbits of showbiz gold.
Going back to which show this is they’re getting ready for. It becomes clear that it’s not the same show. So why are they all here? And why together? We know of course that all three are no longer with us. So is this dressing room God’s waiting room? Are they in limbo? There are moments that send chills as a darkness falls across the laughter.
This is a hugely nostalgic piece and it is a love letter to the golden age of light entertainment. We don’t have stars like this any more and it is such a joy to have them back with us in this wonderful play. There are non stop laughs but also moments of huge poignancy. I loved every minute.
The play was billed as 80 minutes for act 1 and 30 minutes for act 2. Act 1 was definitely the end so I thought act 2 would be 30 minutes of their act. It turned out to be a Q&A session – which alsthough was very insightful I think this is a missed trick. A second half of them doing a routine would’ve been sublime. Something to think about perhaps?
5 stars. Funny, poignant, nostalgic, and hugely entertaining.
