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12 Phonebox Magazine | July 2025%u2018Dying is easy %u2013 it%u2019s comedy that%u2019s hard%u2019. That%u2019s what most comics will tell you, especially if they have just left the stage after facing a particularly hostile audience in some smokey back-street comedy club.They%u2019ve all been there: the stand-ups, the legends, the comedy geniuses. And they will all tell you how hard it is chasing that big laugh, getting the science of every gag right, fi ne-tuning that timing, and keeping the audience%u2019s attention.And some of that is covered in this brilliant new play that%u2019s touring the UK and stopping off in Milton Keynes this month. Following sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and London%u2019s West End, The Last Laugh is coming to the city%u2019s theatre for a night of one dressing room, three comedians and a thousand laughs.Written and directed by Paul Hendy, this new play stars Bob Golding as Eric Morecambe, Damian Williams as Tommy Cooper and Simon Cartwright as Bob Monkhouse, who all reprise their roles following the Edinburgh and West End runs. The play re-imagines the lives of three of Britain%u2019s all-time greatest comedy heroes %u2013Cooper, Morecambe and Monkhouse %u2013 and sets up a situation where they can discuss and share their triumphs and tragedies, highs and lows, laughs and tears.Set in a shabby theatre dressing room and filled with great gags, musical interludes and touching stories, The Last Laugh is nostalgic, poignant and guaranteed to be an unforgettable night out. %u201cThe young team here were bowled over by the relevance of their timeless comedy, and after seeing it myself in Edinburgh, I just knew it had to have a further life so that many more people could experience it,%u201d said producer Jamie Wilson. %u201cWhat is so brilliant about this play is the audiences who love and remember Eric, Tommy, and Bob will be able to relive their comedy greatness, and those that don%u2019t will be introduced to the genius of these national treasures. I%u2019m so pleased these icons will be back on the stage for audiences to enjoy%u201d. Bob Golding starred as Eric Morecambe in the West End hit Morecambe at the Duchess Theatre, for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award, with the show winning the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. He has also appeared in the West End musicals Only The Lonely and Elvis The Musical, and is a panto favourite at Northampton%u2019s Royal & Derngate. Damian Williams played Tommy Cooper in the tour of Being Tommy Cooper. His other theatre credits include Edna Turnblad in the national tour of the musical Hairspray, as well as the tour of The Ladykillers and the plays Bouncers and Educating Rita. He was named Best Pantomime Dame at The Great British Pantomime Awards. Simon Cartwright has been an actor and impressionist since the 1980s, appearing at The Comedy Store many times. He has appeared in the award-winning Channel 4 hit Toast of London and the fi lms Mother%u2019s Day and Closure. He has recently toured the UK in the stage play Howerd%u2019s End in which he portrays the legendary comedian Frankie Howerd. The Last Laugh is at Milton Keynes Theatre from Tuesday 8th to Saturday 12th July.Three of Britain%u2019s best loved comedians are reunited in a brand new play coming to Milton Keynes Theatre this month. Or very nearly, as Phonebox%u2019s Tom Johnston fi nds out.THREEOF A KIND