The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Bringing Laurel and Hardy back to life
PUBLIC figure friendships often last as long as it takes to post the latest selfie on Instagram. They’re both ethereal and ephemeral. They are very much about creating an illusion of connection rather than developing a true friendship.
Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney tried hard to indicate mateyness during the World Cup wagathons, but has their friendship stood the test of time? Not a chance. It’s cost £3m and public laughter.
Can you imagine for a moment that Nicola Sturgeon and Nancy Pelosi will be sending each other private messages once the FM is back from her American mission? Or Tom Cruise and the Queen?
But when friendships last, survive the difficult times, they have a value that is immeasurable.
The re-staging of Tom McGrath’s hit play Laurel and Hardy arrives at a perfect time, when, post lockdown we’ve all come to value – or re-evaluate – those around us.
It looks at the friendship of the Hollywood icons and the challenges they faced, from the demands of creating world cinema to standing out there in front of theatre audiences.
The considers the strength of male friendship, about how close two men can become and the immense challenge of creating great comedy during adversity, and how comedy can prove to be redemptive.
Steven McNicoll and Barnaby
Power are once again Ollie and Stan, the pair who first performed as the Hollywood icons back 2004.
The conceit of the play, directed by Tony Cownie, sees the pair step down from their celestial heaven and look back on their time on Earth.
McGrath’s immensely clever piece has the actors play the range of characters they encountered during their lifetime, including wives, managers and Hollywood producers.
But, of course, the piece also offers the audience a chance to see Stan and Ollie’s slapstick routines performed, and it’s fair to say these make the
transformation from cinema screen to stage with ease.
Yes, there is an immense weight of responsibility when it comes to playing such comedy genius (as evidenced in the Stan and Ollie biopic starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly) but McNicol and Power come so close to the originals a DNA test would probably confirm they are actually related.
The play certainly asks questions of the relationship between Laurel and Hardy, which was often stretched tighter that Ollie’s braces; Stan was the writer, the crafter. Ollie was the golfer. The womaniser.
The pair split for a time before reconnecting. But their reconnection was almost
inevitable. The pair created a unit far stronger than the individual.
Will the routines still stand up? Will audiences laugh at the sight of pocketfuls of porridge, or bum kicks, or high octave Blue Ridge Mountains singing?
Yes, because great comedy transcends time – when perfectly staged.
But in a way, the routines are incidental.
The story of the relationship between
Arthur Stanley Jefferson and Norvell Hardy is key. It was a love story in fact. Which is what all friendships should aspire to become.