Three comedians walk onto a stage. One sports imitation tortoise-shell Metzler glasses. One carries his joke book, a tome once described as ‘the Holy Grail of gag writing’. The third wears a red fez… and just like that, one of them is sure to have the last laugh.
If that sounds like the start of a gag, then the chances are you’re familiar with these three giants of British comedy, Eric Morecambe, Bob Monkhouse and Tommy Cooper. These titans of mirth return to Blackpool this bank holiday in The Last Laugh, a hilarious and heartfelt stage play bringing together the wit, charm and chaos at The Grand, from 26-30 August.
This riotous new comedy drama by award-winning writer and producer Paul Hendy reimagines the lives of three funnymen who, at the top of their games, were untouchable. From one dressing room, the legendary trio share a thousand laughs in a poignant celebration of vaudeville, variety and their unique ability to find the funny in absolutely everything.
The Last Laugh finds the three iconic comedians back in Blackpool, a place each developed a special relationship with as they journeyed from the early days of their careers to being at the vanguard of a golden era of British comedy, each embodying a different facet of humour that continues to influence performers today.
It’s safe to say, all three were no strangers to Lancashire’s favourite seaside resort. Tommy Cooper, who delighted audiences with a mix of misfiring magic, trademark one-liners and deft wordplay, first visited Blackpool in July 1949, when he was just 28; playing a week at the now long gone Feldman’s Theatre on Bank Hey Street. It was the start of a long relationship with the resort for the towering Welshman, including a turn in a North Pier summer show in 1957 that saw him hailed as ‘the mad magician who is a clown of genius.’ That show was one of only 10 summer seasons Cooper did in the UK, four of which were here in Blackpool.
Cooper returned to the Bank Hey Street theatre, now renamed The Queen’s, for the unimaginatively titled The Queen’s Show at various times throughout the Sixties, followed by seasons of his own summer show, Cooper Live-Size, at the Winter Gardens and the Floral Hall. His connection with the town continues to this day with a number of his best loved gags proudly sported on Blackpool’s famous Comedy Carpet, best viewed from high up in the Blackpool Tower. You’ll also find him a bit further along the Promenade, his 6ft 4in tall waxwork an attraction in Madame Tussauds Blackpool.
TV presenter, actor and comedian Bob Monkhouse could also be found spending his summer’s in Blackpool and in 1957 that meant judging the Miss Blackpool Bathing Beauty Competition. The beauty pageant, hotly contested by 23 finalists, resulted in a win for No 19, Margaret Rowe, thanks to Monkhouse and his fellow judges – she sashayed off with the top prize of £250 and the solid silver Blackpool Bathing Beauty Pageant Trophy.
Three years later, Monkhouse was back in Don’t Stop You’re Killing Me! In which he shared the bill with the likes of The Peters Sisters and the Cabaret Club Lovelies. However, by 1965 he was guest starring in the popular Blackpool Variety Show, which starred the legendary Tony Hancock. A short time later the TV game show The Golden Shot beckoned, quickly making Monkhouse one of television’s hottest properties.
That said, it’s Eric Morecambe who made the biggest impact of the three on the people of Blackpool; few can have missed the resort’s lasting tribute to his comic genius and that of his sidekick, Ernie Wise, just a couple of doors up from The Grand.
Over their long career, Morecambe and Wise boasted in excess of 1,000 performances in Blackpool, first appearing here on stage together in 1941. During their 36 year relationship with the resort they played seven different theatres, six summer seasons as well as starring in the 1955 Royal Variety Performance.
It all started in 1940, however, when they were teenagers known simply as Eric Bartholomew and Ernest Wiseman, individual acts in the touring Youth Takes a Bow show at the Palace Theatre. As a double-act they were back again in April 1949 to play Feldman’s Theatre, just four months before Cooper. In 1953 the duo played Something to Sing About at the Winter Gardens’ Pavilion, the start of a run of visits in the Fifties. 1954 saw them play the Palace Theatre. 1955, the Royal Variety Performance at the Blackpool Opera House. In the same year they kept the laughter coming with a summer season on Central Pier, to where they returned in 1957 and again in 1959.
By the Swingin’ Sixties, 1963 to be precise it was the turn of the North Pier’s summer season to host the pair. Morecambe, with Wise naturally, made their last Blackpool stage appearance as part of their 1976 tour on Saturday, 23 October, at the Opera House, some 36 years after taking their youthful bow at the Palace. Today, their likenesses too have been memorialised in wax courtesy of Madam Tussauds where they have been described as, ‘surprisingly accurate and somewhat scarily real, especially Eric.’
Charged with bringing these three comedy colossuses to life in The Last Laugh at The Grand from Tuesday 26 to Saturday 30 August are the acclaimed trio of Bob Golding (Morecambe), Simon Cartwright (Monkhouse) and Damian Williams (Cooper), in what they promise will be ‘the ultimate comedy night out with whip-smart writing, fabulous physical comedy and a warm heart.’
Paul Hendy’s The Last Laugh runs at the Blackpool Grand from 26-30 August, 7.30pm, Thursday & Saturday matinees 2.30pm, tickets here.
Full tour details ands tickets here.
Commissioned by The Grand Theatre, Blackpool
