Foley also directs this 20th anniversary production, after co-starring with McColl in the original run which was a hit both in the West End and around the UK, and even on Broadway (with some of the more specifically British nostalgia elements taken out.) I saw its Wyndhams run twice (the special guests were Ioan Gruffudd and Roger Moore) and remembered it fondly.
There have been many attempts to impersonate Morecambe and Wise on stage over the years, but possibly the secret of The Play What I Wrote's success is that it never outright does that, instead tapping into the spirit and sense of humour of the duo. So for the new version Dennis Herdman and Thom Tuck, playing characters with their real first names, are a frustrated comedy duo looking for a hit. Thom has written a dramatic play about the French Revolution, "A Tight Squeeze for the Scarlet Pimple," and thinks they're going to stage this, but in reality Dennis has signed a deal for them to do a Morecambe and Wise tribute show. It's a fun premise, allowing them to fit a sketch/variety show around a very loose framework, and there seems something very fitting to the anarchic tone of the original TV specials to spend an entire Morecambe and Wise tribute show vehemently insisting it's got nothing to do with Morecambe and Wise.
Also giving the show a slightly different dynamic, and taking the role of various supporting players and stooges from the original, is the addition of a third character, Arthur (Mitesh Soni,) an electrician Dennis has got to help him trick Thom, largely by impersonating people from producer David Pugh to Scarlett Johansson, and just like when he was played by a pre-national treasure Toby Jones, Arthur can be the scene-stealing part. The show is also famous for replicating the TV show's big-name guest stars, with audiences not knowing until the second act which of a rotating cast of celebrities would be making fools of themselves. This revival's publicity seemed, to me, a bit too much dominated by the fact that Tom Hiddleston would be among the rotation, and he is indeed the one in this performance filmed during the tour's leg in Bath. He gamely plays the self-important star being trussed up as the Conte de Toblerone, although based on what little I've seen of him as himself I'm not sure how much acting was involved.
Ironically, considering it's based on a TV show, I wasn't always convinced this filmed performance quite managed to replicate the atmosphere of being there in person; it could just be that the live audience weren't miked enough, as only the biggest laughs seem to carry. I did warm to it - Herdman and Tuck have nailed the balance of taking on little characteristics of the original performers without impersonating them. The structure does help with this - although being cast as the writer of the play-within-a-play means Thom automatically fits the Ernie mould, when he eventually agrees to do the tribute the pair get sidetracked again by both wanting to be Eric, meaning both actors get to play elements of both comedians. Another part of the premise is that the original guest star hasn't turned up, and it's funny that 20 years on they haven't needed to update this name from Ian McKellen - although now the joke that he's absent because he's playing Mother Goose turns out not to be that ridiculous after all. If it's not quite the same as seeing it live this recording is fun though, and the mix of original Morecambe and Wise jokes and new ones in their style is what continues to elevate this from a straightforward tribute act.
The Play What I Wrote by Sean Foley, Hamish McColl and Eddie Braben is available to stream until December 2023 on BBC iPlayer.
Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
Photo credit: Manuel Harlan.
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