The Firth of Mirth!
“I said to the waiter: “There is no chicken in this chicken soup.” He said: “And there’s no horse in the horseradish either”
“Last night I slept like a log. I woke up in the fire place”.
Tommy Cooper jokes
“The last time I was in Spain I got through six Jeffrey Archer novels. I must remember to take enough toilet paper next time.”
Bob Monkhouse joke
“I always take my wife morning tea in my pyjamas. But is she grateful? No, she says she’d rather have it in a cup”
Eric Morecambe joke
In the late 1950’s and early 60’s in this country humour and comedians had started to evolve. There was loosening of the constraints of the Second World War; colour TV was yet to start at the end of the decade. Comedians worked the clubs and theatres up and down the Country waiting for their break into film and television.
Three of the best known comics Tommy Cooper (Damian Williams) Bob Monkhouse (Simon Cartwright) and Eric Morecambe (Bob Golding) are portrayed excellently by the cast: looking at the real comics, their likeness and performances are uncanny.
The lights go up on a set laid out as a changing room for the comics to get ready for their acts. There are black and white photos on the wall of famous comics who have passed away. At the front of the stage stands Tommy Cooper wearing a rumpled vest and saggy underpants, he is wearing his signature Fez hat, oh, and also a pair of oversized yellow chicken feet boots!
The author and director Paul Hendy has chosen well by using the three characters: each was famous for their individualistic style of comedy. Tommy Cooper was the stand-up comic, who could get a laugh just by standing there. He admits one of his biggest laughs came from forgetting the punch line to one of his jokes and using the next joke’s punchline. He was a big man 6ft 4 inches and heavy. You never came to know the real person as he was self-driven and motivated, his humour was portrayed as if adlibbing. If a joke didn’t work, he just shrugged his shoulders and got a laugh anyway.
Completely the opposite in style and delivery was Bob Monkhouse, he was a perfectionist and he had hand written books containing the jokes he had created and perfected. Always smartly dressed, he became ever more popular as a compere on the new quiz shows on television. He was more serious in real life as he had some dreadful personal issues with his family.
The third comedian Eric Morecambe was at his best as part of the Morecambe and Wise shows which ran for years with the highest viewing figures for their Christmas Specials. They included one where the serious newsreader Angela Rippon suddenly showed that she was a skilled dancer with great legs. And who can forget the singing male newsreaders clad in sailor outfits, singing “There’s Nothing Like a Dame” from South Pacific? Eric needed other people to spark off his jokes and after he and Ernie split, they were both less successful.
The play has the three comics bantering with one another, each with their own style. They all join in when Eric plays the ukulele as did George Formby with “My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock”, subtle for the time. Underlying all of this, is the real life, ever-present feeling of unease, heart attacks, drinking too much and abject loneliness.
This is a well written, well-acted and funny play. The audience whose parents were probably not born when Cooper, Monkhouse and Morecambe were at the height of their fame, all joined in with the humour. I hope it goes on tour as I will definitely go and see it again!
EDITOR’S NOTE
Simon Cartwright has also played another legendary comedian, Frankie Howerd. LINK here.
Malcolm Beckett has been reviewing theatre since 2017
Production Notes
The Last Laugh
Written and directed by Paul Hendy
Cast
Starring:
Damian Williams
Bob Golding
Simon Cartwright
Creatives
Director: Paul Hendy
Set Designer:
Costume Designer: Amy Chamberlain
Lighting Designer: Crispian Robinson
Information
Running Time: One hour ten minutes without an interval
Booking at 1.20pm daily to 25th August 2024
Theatre:
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Venue 17
Assembly George Square Studios
Studio One
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LH
Box Office 0131 623 3030
Web Site
http://www.assemblyfestival.com
BOOKING LINK
Reviewed by Malcolm Beckett
at George Square Studio One
at 1.20pm on 4th August 2024