Fringe regular Guy Masterson directs Tim Whitnall's script about much-loved British comedian Eric Morecambe in a new performance space at Assembly on The Mound in Rainy Hall.
The play begins with the announcement of Morecambe's death before the man himself comes through the velvet curtains and begins telling the story of his life, from his childhood when his mother encouraged him into show business onwards. Of course his famous partnership was with Ernie Wise, who is represented in the play by a ventriloquist's dummy.
One-man or one-woman biographical shows are always popular at The Fringe, but this one has a much better script than most of these. However the production is raised to a whole new level by a stunning performance by Bob Golding who not only gets all the gestures, voice and well-known gags of the great man but also drops easily into many other characters that make brief appearances in the story as Eric tells it.
This is a good if not a great play that pieces together the life story of one of our greatest entertainers in an interesting and affectionate portrayal with a humour of its own in addition to the comic performances that are recreated, but Golding's performance is a real tour-de-force that turns this into a must-see production at this year's Fringe.