Edinburgh Fringe 2024

The Last Laugh

Evolution Productions

Genre: Theatre

Venue: Assembly George Square Studios - Studio 1

Festival: Edinburgh Fringe

Low Down

Review

The Last Laugh imagines what would have happened if three very different legends of late 20^th century British comedy, Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse met in a dressing room before a show. What would they have talked about? What would their attitudes to each other have been? And, despite their varying styles and approaches to making audiences laugh, what would we see they also have in common?

This hugely entertaining play will only work its magic on audiences who knew in detail the work of all three comedians, and most of the other comedy performers of their era who are referenced and dissected throughout the play. No problem on the day I saw it, when the full house seemed to know well and love all three comedians.

The action begins with Tommy Cooper (superbly portrayed by Damian Williams) in a theatre dressing room in his underpants, vest and trademark fez, half-heartedly rehearsing some elements of his stage act, whilst working his way through a bottle of whisky. After a few minutes he is joined by Bob Monkhouse who arrives in smart casual clothes with a Trumpian tan and we are struck by another very accurate recreation of a well-known, very measured comedian, expertly played by Simon Cartwright.  The two men know each other, personally and professionally, very well. Then Eric Morecambe arrives to complete the trio and contribute another commendable and accurate portrayal of a much-loved persona by Bob Golding.  A trio of impressive and accurate performances.

The banter between them is very entertaining and adeptly crafted by writer Paul Hendy, working especially well when it concerns the life of comedians, counting their blessings and drowning their sorrows about the comedy world or their personal lives, as they drink their way through the bottle of whisky. However, one of the problems of the play is when the characters are made to spout simplistic pontifications from the Janet and John book of comedy theory. It’s like getting a lecture from your elderly uncle at Christmas about what the comedians of his day were like and how they (and their contemporaries) structured (or didn’t) their material and their varying personas on stage. These sections were didactic and tedious, but the brilliance of the three stellar performances of Cooper, Monkhouse and Morecambe managed to stop the play disappearing into a turgid lecture. Thankfully, rather than this clumsy theory dominating, more than half the drama focuses on their interactions and love/hate relationships (much more mutual admiration than genuine criticism – there’s not much grit here) and this is where the play shines. The other regrettable element is that all three comedians are very much written as their stage characters, not the real men behind the comedy masks. So we get all their classic schtick and catch phrases trotted out to each other. The audience loved the recognition, giving them flashbacks to their younger selves hearing and seeing these moments on TV, radio and in theatres. The trip down memory lane was well worth the ticket price for the audience who adored the recreations. But, having spent 30 years producing BBC drama and comedy, often with time in Green Rooms with some of the people mentioned in the play, including Barry Cryer, I rarely saw their stage acts performed for fellow comedians whilst preparing to go on. I understand the dramatic need to give the audience what they came for, a taste of seeing their comedy heroes again live on stage, but meeting the men behind their comedy masks would have added a welcome extra dimension to this charming and mostly hilarious drama and could have taken the place of Old Uncle Paul’s comedy lecture. A thoroughly worthwhile nostalgic hour in the theatre nonetheless.

Published August 29, 2024 by Turan Ali