Morecambe

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

I was born in 1977, the same year that The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special attracted 28 million viewers - half the entire population of the UK at that time.

By the time Eric Morecambe died in 1984, I'd just turned seven. This, coupled with the fact my parents watched the repeats for years and insisted upon how funny they were (a form of aversion therapy for any youngster), meant that I had personally missed the big deal about Morecambe and Wise. Until now, that is.

With a visit from my mum coinciding with the tribute show Morecambe coming to Canterbury, it formed an ideal opportunity to treat her to a night out that I knew she’d love. I wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy it as much, but the posters showing the uncanny resemblence of performer Bob Golding to Eric, along with the rave reviews that preceded him, had me intrugued.

As the crowd filed in to Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre, there was a murmur as we passed notices warning us that Bob had suffered severe ligament damage to his left ankle and that his movement would be significantly impaired, but ‘in the spirit of Eric Morecambe’, he had decided that the show must go on. If we weren’t already wincing in sympathy with Bob, we’d have giggled - after all, the public announcement of an ungainly and impeding minor injury sounded like the makings of a slapstick Eric Morecambe-style gag.

But the poor chap really had twisted his ankle, though the only sign of it was in the swelling when he removed his trousers. Don’t worry, there was no nudity - the show was true to Morecambe and Wise’s ‘never cheekier than a seaside postcard’ mantra. This was in the hospital scene.

Despite the ankle pain he must have been in, Bob was a true pro and then some - from the second he emerged from the velvet curtains to fond applause, he inhabited Eric Morecambe’s persona so completely that there were many times when I got a strange feeling that I was watching some reincarnation of the man himself.

The only moments when Bob let the act slip was when he was sliding effortlessly into brief representations of up to 55 other characters, including an equally uncanny impersonation of Bruce Forsyth.

Bob well deserves the Olivier Award Best Performance nomination that this one-man show won him 2010 - whoever won that gong must be out of this world, because Bob certainly is. His characterisation, delivery, singing voice and talent for mimicry and mannerisms are extraordinary, not to mention his sheer energy and ability to deftly handle complex props (including a ventriloquist’s dummy playing Little Ern) without it ever detracting from his performance for a milisecond.

As the on-stage action recounts Eric’s life story from beginning to end, including all the best one-liners, song and dance routines and sensitive moments of reflection on his family life, I defy you not to both laugh and cry - but, mainly, laugh. A lot.

This a show which really lives up to its hype.

www.morecambetour.co.uk