Review: 100 Years Celebration of Laurel and Hardy at The Atkinson in Southport
However many times I watch a clip of Laurel and Hardy, I can’t help but laugh – no matter how many times I’ve seen it.
You could tell that from the audience who roared with laughter seeing ‘Blue Ridge Mountains’ as the opening of 100 Years Celebration of Laurel and Hardy by Neil Brand at The Atkinson in Southport.
Collectively the crowd must have seen it thousands of times, but it’s just brilliantly funny.
There was something very special about Laurel and Hardy, both as comedians, as clowns, as performers, as friends.
They were the downtrodden guys. They were all of us. Always trying their best – and then facing unexpected disaster in a brilliant and chaotic way.
Whether they’re tunnelling out of prison; starting custard pie fights; building a house; or famously trying to push a piano up the hill, you just know how it’s going to end.
100 years of Laurel and Hardy is definitely something worth celebrating, and silent movie musician and presenter Neil Brand did it extremely well.
Neil performed backing music on piano in true old cinema style while some superb, lovingly restored old Laurel and Hardy movies played on screen in the background.
Neil paid tribute to the people who have researched and carefully restored these old movies, for the world to be able to enjoy once again.
They’re well worth saving. Laurel and Hardy were megastars in their heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, before their stars waned during World War II.
This Anglo-American duo gained millions of fans first across the US and then across the world.
Their comedy was humble, it was brilliant and it was universal.
After they fell from favour on the big screen, they didn’t stop working – they just went touring.
They famously toured the UK, including two shows in Southport. It’s hard to imagine they played on stage here – it must have been an amazing experience to see them live.
There is so much of what they did that inspired future comedy double acts whether it’s Morecambe and Wise, Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall, Del and Rodney in Only Fools and Horses and many, many more.
The show was interactive at the end as members of the audience provided backing for You’re Darn Tootin’ and then provided ripping sounds for another scene.
Audience members then submitted questions about the pair, which Neil answered.
It was a great night where the audience came away after enjoying lots of laughter, seeing some rarely-seen movies, learning lots about the background and insights into Laurel and Hardy – and celebrating 100 years of the greatest comedy double act of all time.
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