I was in Morocco once (hold on – this’ll make sense) and came across a market stall selling fezes. The stall holder asked me where I was from. I said, “UK” where upon he put on a fez and said, “Just like that!” I asked him if he knew what that meant. He shrugged and said, “No, but everyone who comes from UK puts on a fez and says, “Just like that!’” And we still do. Forty years after the death of the comic we’re imitating. Such is the impression he made and the impressions being made tonight at the Alexandra will surely be spoken for the same length of time.
Three stalwarts of comedy who dominated the light entertainment landscape for many years are here evoked with uncanny accuracy by three comedy stalwarts who have to be seen to be believed. Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse stood like colossuses of chuckles throughout their lengthy careers and no Brit with or without a TV could claim ignorance of them. Tonight, their last moments and their last laughs are conjured up with bewitching precision evoking not only a litany of glorious memories but a glut of bulls-eye belly laughs.
To unveil the actors behind the familiar masks feels a little like revealing an illusion or some mysterious mechanics so submerged are they in their characters – but Bob Monkhouse is channeled by Simon Cartwright, Tommy Cooper reanimated by Damien Williams and Eric Morecambe is rekindled by Bob Golding. All three consummate comics with jaw-dropping CVs not only summing up the comics we knew but also evoking the feelings we experienced.
The 70s and 80s were a different time. We experienced shows simultaneously, we laughed at the same time, and you could be pretty much assured everyone at school had seen the same as you the night before. Today we’re divided, the world is out of synch allowing millions of people to laugh at the same joke in different places at different times yet still feel lonely. No wonder those of us who knew the feeling of community hark back to those days and this play evokes it with joy, love and kindness.
Paul Hendy has given us a gift of script blending vibrant, joyous comedy with poignant, gentle sadness tailored to skills of performers who for the brief, shining moment of the play brings back those people we adored and cherished and remind us of a world gone by.
Playing until 26th July, before continuing on its UK tour, https://thelastlaughplay.co.uk/
Reviewer: Peter Kinnock
Reviewed: 22nd July 2025
North West End UK Rating:
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