“When I first said I wanted to be a comedian, everybody laughed. They’re not laughing now.” Bob Monkhouse’s famous quip comes to mind while watching The Last Laugh, a show where laughter is both currency and curse. Three of Britain’s greatest comedy legends - Bob Monkhouse (Simon Cartwright), Tommy Cooper (Damian Williams), and Eric Morecambe (Bob Golding) - find themselves crammed in a dilapidated dressing room, trading gags, sweat, and desperation as they fight to outshine one another. It’s a relentless, riotous, and surprisingly poignant evening that leaves the audience howling. But the waves of laughter are never enough for the two comedians (and Bob Monkhouse). They’re desperate for the next howl, the next snort, the next bark. And when it arrives they want it again, only bigger. Then bigger still - floating on a never-ending stream of mirth. They need to make each other (and us) laugh. And it’s killing them.
Following a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe and a critically acclaimed stint in Brighton, The Last Laugh is a joyous, relentless, and ultimately poignant tribute to three of Britain’s greatest comedians. It’s a show packed with gags - classic, familiar, and razor-sharp - delivered with an infectious energy that keeps the audience in fits of laughter. Red sponge balls fly, a ukulele appears, and the trio’s sweat-soaked determination to out-funny each other is as exhausting as it is exhilarating. It’s a fight to the death.