Review: The Last Laugh honours comic legends at Darlington Hippodrome

Andrew White watches Paul Hendy’s affectionate, laugh-out-loud play – and finds it devastatingly funny, poignant and superbly acted.

Three of Britain’s greatest comedy legends share a dressing room and dissect the secret of being funny – really funny – in Paul Hendy’s affectionate, laugh-out-loud play, The Last Laugh, which opened at Darlington Hippodrome to a rapturous reception this week.

The premise of the play is simple. Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe, and Bob Monkhouse meet in a run-down dressing room, surrounded by photographs of departed comedians who once trod these boards.

From this intimate setting emerges a side-splitting, often poignant love letter to the golden age of television comedy and its enduring influence on the entertainment world.

The acting is superb across the board, with Damian Williams, Steve Royle, and Simon Cartwright perfectly capturing the speech patterns, mannerisms, and attitudes of Cooper, Morecambe, and Monkhouse.

Simon Cartwright embodies Bob Monkhouse’s meticulous gag-craft with authentic presence (Image: PAMELA RAITH)

Cartwright, who knew Monkhouse in real life, brings a particular authenticity to Bob, while Williams and Royle embody Cooper’s baffled charm and Morecambe’s self-deprecating brilliance with equal conviction.

It is clear the cast hold a genuine affection for the men they portray – something underscored in a second-half Q&A, where the actors, now out of costume, spoke with evident regard for their subjects.

This is a play, not a stand-up show, yet it is devastatingly funny – bellylaugh funny – with jokes cleverly woven into the plot.

Damian Williams brings Tommy Cooper’s baffled charm and “funny bones” vividly to life (Image: PAMELA RAITH)

Many gags will be familiar to fans, but they land with fresh impact as the trio gently mock one another while respecting each other’s craft.

The heart of the piece lies in their discussion of why they make people laugh. Monkhouse agonises over every word as a ‘gag man’, Morecambe doubts he would have made it without Ernie Wise – despite the others insisting he could – while Cooper simply has ‘funny bones’ and no real insight into why.

A recurring theme of ‘dying’ on stage – failing to get a laugh – chimes poignantly with the comedians’ actual demises, notably Cooper’s on-stage collapse during a live TV performance.

Other tragedies are explored, but never laid on with a trowel and each sombre moment is swiftly undercut by another laugh.

Hendy’s script fairly rattles along – like a Monkhouse gag, not a word is out of place. The dressing room set, with its gallery of departed comics, is integral, grounding the banter in a tangible sense of legacy.

Steve Royle captures Eric Morecambe’s self-deprecating brilliance and perfect comic timing (Image: PAMELA RAITH)

Cooper probably garners the biggest laughs from the appreciative Darlington audience, but Morecambe’s famous line about playing “all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order” almost brings the house down.

At the end, the performers received a well-deserved standing ovation, reflecting both the enduring affection for these comedy giants and appreciation for three superb performances.

The Q&A that followed brought more laughs and, most importantly, demonstrated just how much regard the actors hold for these three legends.

If this play proves anything, it’s that Cooper, Morecambe and Monkhouse will never truly leave the stage – because great comedy never dies.

The Last Laugh runs at Darlington Hippodrome to Saturday, August 22. For full details or to book, visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01325-405405.