We know immediately that we are in an old dressing room of a slightly rundown vaudeville-style theatre. Mirrors that are framed with half-working dressing table lights and a litter of make-up, brushes and bottles on the tables; the requisite clutter that decorate performers’ dressing rooms. We can almost smell the greasepaint. It’s as we would expect it, and maybe even realistic.
At opening, the lights flicker and briefly go out. When the lights come back up, Tommy Cooper, an aging, travel-weary comic, stands in his underwear and very large duck feet and with a bright red fez on his head, looking very dazed and puzzled. He seems lost.
Next in is Bob Monkhouse. “If this is the number one dressing room, I’d hate to see the number two.” Cooper responds, “I think that’s for the chorus girls.” Quick on the uptake, Monkhouse, “In that case, I’d like to see the number two.” This is the kind of banter that will fill the dressing room. Monkhouse is admiring and self-effacing. He feels a little unworthy. He is a reflective sort that needs to understand everything.
Last in: Eric Morecambe. “I’m sorry; I thought this was the comedian’s dressing room.” The camaraderie is palpable and warm. Their competition for laughs is good fun; it doesn’t draw blood.
Eric Morecambe, Tommy Cooper and Bob Monkhouse were all comedic royalty of their time. We are witness to their friendship and their humour. They have all taken possession of a table where they unpack their wares.
They will be performing for the anticipated crowd and chasing the big laugh.
We get a taste of the jokes and the analysis of the telling. For Cooper, it's funny or it's funny-funny. For Monkhouse, it's finding the right combination of words and paring them down to the least number of words. Reverence is paid to the word and to the wordsmiths who have gone before: heavy hitters that include the Americans Laurel and Hardy.
Damian Williams plays the boisterous and garrulous Tommy Cooper. We are amused by the broad and predictable jokes that often rely on the treasures that spill out of his suitcase. A white gate is discovered, and they each try to get a laugh at going through the gate. Williams as Cooper plays the gag with the most subtle of action. We laugh at the gag and, more, laugh at how we buy into it.
Bob Golding plays Eric Morecambe, as easy and generous. His humour is enhanced with songs on a ukulele. When he sings the well-known “With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock”, he is joined by Cooper and Monkhouse. These three have crossed paths often.
Simon Cartwright plays the thoughtful Bob Monkhouse. He keeps a book of his jokes. He is aware of the origin of every joke used (borrowed / stolen). He stands before a wall of admired contemporaries, the masters, reflecting, “they are all dead”. He has made himself the historian, feels much like the author’s voice, explaining, giving background.
The evening feels like playwright Paul Hendy has sculpted his script from the traveling comedic shows of the 1950s: set-up, punchline, set-up, punchline, all for the amusement and appreciation of their colleagues and their audiences.
The Last Laugh was first an award-winning short film with the same three actors. Hendy offers us a look at the comedic giants of the mid-twentieth century: their lives and legends; the exhaustion of touring.
These comics earned their living traveling the countryside, stopping at every small town. Before television and even as sets were invading the British households, a family’s entertainment would be a trip out to the local live theatre that would fill an evening with these well-known comedians and the seats with eager fans.
When television was in its infancy and only live, these three were the reason families parked themselves in front of their sets.
The Last Laugh reveals how tough this life was and how much they relied on the support of these friendships. Even if we weren’t getting a secret peek into these men’s lives and the history of stand-up, The Last Laugh is well written and well played. These three comedians are all very different; different humans and different entertainers.
The three actors feel very comfortable in their characters. Solid comics in their own right, they are well-schooled in their alter egos and their timing.
Playwright Paul Hendy directs this dazzling cast with a light but knowledgeable finesse. The rule is: guide but stay out of their way; they know what they are doing. These three have been playing those three for years.
The difference in what is funny to the Brits and the Americans and the nostalgic difference in the humour of the 1950s and the 2010s is what we walk away with.
The Last Laugh is a masterclass in comedy. Damian Williams and Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Golding, Bob Monkhouse and Simon Cartwright give us the forefathers of comedy.
Playing in Theatre A at 59E59 Theatres as part of their Brits OffBroadway in New York from 23 April to 25 May and running 80–85 minutes.