Review: THE LAST LAUGH, Theatre Royal

The Last Laugh is a comedy play written by Paul Hendy that made its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and went on to run in the West End and in New York.

The show takes place in a backstage dressing room where Tommy Cooper (Damian Williams), Bob Monkhouse (Simon Cartwright) and Eric Morcambe (Bob Golding) are getting ready to perform. 

The three men have very different styles of comedy and Tommy warms up with a bit of magic and jokes that Bob points out are stolen from other comedians. Bob is a master of a well-set-up gag, and Eric performs more physical comedy to get a laugh.

The schedule for the evening is an 80-minute run time for the main play, an interval and then a Q&A with the cast which was really worthwhile. The cast mentioned that this was their 135th performance and its clear that the trio work so well together and get along brilliantly both on stage and off, which really adds to the performance.

The Last Laugh was definitely a firm favourite with this audience- its the first time I’ve ever heard a small brown paper bag get a laugh for appearing onstage. There were quite a few anticipatory laughs as well known routines were performed. 

The Last Laugh works well as a new play but you’re likely to get a lot more out of it if you’re familiar with the source material. The play is extremely well written and has a strong narrative that serves as more than just a vehicle for the gags. It’s wonderfully nostalgic and a clear love letter to these three comedians. 

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