A First Look at The Last Laugh at Noel Coward Theatre
The Last Laugh is a new play that takes three of Britain’s all-time comedy heroes – Tommy Cooper, Bob Monkhouse and Eric Morecambe – and imagines them coming together in a theatre dressing room where they talk about their lives, their craft and their legacies.
Written and directed by Paul Hendy, The Last Laugh was a big hit at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, becoming a hot ticket with festival audiences. Now it is transferring to London for a run at the Noel Coward Theatre, before a run in New York ahead of a UK tour.
I went along to The Ivy Club to find out more about this affectionate and hugely entertaining tribute to some of our greatest comedy stars, as it prepares for its London opening.
Producer Jamie Wilson introduced the cast and talked a little about why he wanted to bring the play to London. Jamie said:
“Every year we go to the Edinburgh Festival – one of the best arts festivals in the world – to look for the next West End transfer. When the team told me they’d found a play called The Last Laugh about Tommy, Eric and Bob I didn’t believe them, I thought they were just saying it because they know I love that genre! So I flew to Edinburgh (from holiday in Majorca!) and caught the last performance and remember just laughing and laughing at the comedy material and also becoming very emotional at some of the themes”.
Following Jamie’s flying visit - during which he braved Edinburgh’s notorious “summer” weather in shorts and flip flops! - Jamie said things moved quickly in bringing the play to the West End:
“Things can come together really quickly if everyone has the same response (to a play) and everyone did – theatre managers, other celebrity artists and comedians and critics all said the same thing”.
We were then introduced to the three actors who are bringing these comedy legends to life. Simon Cartwright was first up, as Bob Monkhouse. He quickly had the audience in the palm of his perma-tanned hand with an affectionate roast of producer Jamie. He handed over to Damian Williams as Tommy Cooper whose hilarious entrance, squeezing through the tables in a pair of over-sized chicken feet, set the tone for his audience work and a classic card trick. Finally Bob Golding as Eric Morecambe brought some music to proceedings, with some slightly chaotic backing from his comedy colleagues.
Wrapping up, the play’s writer and director Paul Hendy talked a little about how he came to write The Last Laugh. It was initially written as a short 20 minute film, extended into a play during Lockdown. You might wonder what the target audience would be for a play about three men who were household names at least 40 years ago, but Hendy explained that during its Edinburgh run, the play attracted audiences of all ages. The talent of its characters is something everyone can enjoy and the personalities and stories clearly resonate, judging by the emotional reactions from audiences.
Paul talked a little about the three men and their different approaches to comedy:
“Tommy was a naturally gifted comedian, he couldn’t help but be funny, he had genuinely funny bones and so everything he said was funny.
Bob Monkhouse was, by his own admission, not a naturally funny man but he could write and hone a great gag, he was a great student of comedy.
And then Eric was sort of in the middle, a great, gifted and natural comedian, naturally funny but he needed writers to come up with the material for him”.
After we had watched the uncannily real performances of The Last Laugh’s cast, Hendy explained the main reason he’d chosen to write about these three men:
“I had these three actors, I knew about them, so it wasn’t as if I wrote it and had to find three actors to play the roles because I knew these three guys could not just act they could really BE these roles.
The play is very funny, but it also gets vey nostalgic and poignant, there’s a lot of depth to it. Why do we need to be funny? Why are we still talking about these three? Tommy and Eric died in 1984 (Bob in 2003) and we’re still talking about them now. We’ll explore that in the play”.
The Last Laugh is a play full of laugh out loud comedy, including some classic moments that work just as well now as they did “back in the day”, along with touching and poignant stories and recollections that pack a real emotional punch.
Whether you grew up entertained by the likes of Cooper, Monkhouse and Morecambe, or you’re discovering them for the first time, it promises to be a fantastic piece of theatre.
The Last Laugh runs at London’s Noel Coward Theatre from 25th February until 22nd March before embarking on its UK tour. Find out more and book tickets here.
