The Last Laugh at Milton Keynes Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Janine Rumble

Having been born in the late 70s and growing up in the 80s, Bob Monkhouse, Eric Morecambe and Tommy Cooper were legendary in our house, in everyone’s houses, especially on a Saturday night.

Through this amazing play by Paul Hendy, their legacy continues and their comedy continues to endure, inspire and produce great big belly laughs from the audience. What a brilliant evening my friend and I had and I would highly recommend everyone should go and see it.

Initially, we had no real idea what the play might have been about, other than it was about these three legendary comics that we had grown up with. We were worried that the characters would be caricatures of the comedians, but oh my goodness, we were blown away by the talents of Bob Golding as Eric Morecambe, Damian Williams as Tommy Cooper and Simon Cartwright as Bob Monkhouse, who practically embodied these comedians.

You could see (and hear in the Q and A section later) just how much these actors love and respect these comedians. The talent in all three of them was amazing. They have studied and absorbed themselves in every aspect of these comedians lives and if you knew no better, then you would think that the actors you saw on stage were the comedians themselves! They had the voices down pat, the mannerisms, every movement, the laughs, the comedic timing, the jokes, the slapstick, the silliness, everything was just as you would expect to see from the real comedians.

I sat for a while with my eyes closed just to listen to the voices, Simon Cartwright was especially brilliant with the voice of Bob Monkhouse. I swear that when I closed my eyes for moments, I thought it was Bob Monkhouse I was hearing. The costumes were brilliant, as was Bob’s orange tan which was mocked throughout. The attention to detail was brilliant.

It was brilliant to see the comedy routines that we have come to know and love performed on stage and to hear the audience laughing as if it was the first time they had seen it. By the end of the show, my cheeks, jaw and sides hurt from laughing so much. The musical numbers, though few, with Eric playing on his ukulele, were good and took you on a trip down memory lane.

As well as being hysterically funny, it was also poignant and sad at times and brought a tear to my eye. The premise of the play is it is the last time Tommy Cooper is going on stage (although he did not realise it at the time) and he is sat in his dressing room, reminiscing with his two friends Bob Monkhouse and Eric Morecambe, looking at the photos of the great comedians who have gone before them and sharing their highs and their lows before Tommy goes on stage for that final time. It is such a clever play with only dressing room set and the three actors on stage. This gives it a more intimate feeling and a closeness with the audience.

Following the interval, there was a Q and A session with the three actors, hosted by Richard Hodder.

During the interval, questions could be written down and put into a fez and then asked during the Q and A session, but we did not see this, so were not able to ask our question, but it was a question that was asked and answered.

The question asked to Damian Williams, Tommy Cooper was: Why did you not put your trousers on sooner? You will have to go and see the show to find out what this is all about, but all I will say is that it was the funniest, most unexpected start to a play I have ever seen.

I think the Q and A session at the end just put the icing on top of the cake for me, the play was superb and the nostalgia and the laughter was brilliant, but to then see and hear the actors talking about the comedians they played with such love, warmth and respect from them was heart warming.

You could really see how much these comedians meant to the actors and the stories they had to tell were amazing. It is very rare you see the other side of a play, the real-life actor behind the character, you normally just watch a play and go, but this was a glimpse behind the scenes, into the lives of the actors and learning just how much each of the comedians meant to them. Comedian nerds at their best.

The Last Laugh is at Milton Keynes Theatre till Saturday 12th July. Tickets are priced from £15.00 and can be purchased from ATGtickets.com/MiltonKeynes

Most days there are two performances. The tour then travels onto Glasgow: Theatre Royal, Birmingham: The Alexandra, Manchester: Opera House, Guildford: Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Cardiff: Wales Millennium Centre, Southend: Palace Theatre, Blackpool: The Grand Theatre and Bradford: Bradford Theatres.
More information about the show can be found at thelastlaughplay.co.uk

If you love comedy, nostalgia, reminiscing about the past, or just having a really good laugh, then this most definitely is the show for you. You don’t need to be a huge fan of Cooper, Monkhouse or Morecambe to enjoy the show. My friend placed them Monkhouse, Morecambe and Cooper in the order of who she liked best, but after spending an evening laughing and guffawing out loud, Cooper became her favourite. The play also made me feel sad and wistful that I had never seen them live and a little jealous of those who did see them live.

I highly recommend you see this show and I give it a 5/5 stars. I would give more if I could for the added Q and A at the end, which just cemented why these comedians were so special, well respected and loved.

Rating: 5/5