Lucky Dog Theatre Productions: The Laurel & Hardy Cabaret

Lucky Dog Theatre Productions are generally regarded as being the best Laurel and Hardy re-enactors in the world. Their popular biopic 'Hats Off To Laurel And Hardy' has won awards and played to full houses and standing ovations throughout the UK and into America, Germany and the Czech Republic since 2013. They have also played many conventions and events with other (often very rare) material that Stan and Ollie once performed on stage, newsreels, records, lost footage and even scripts that were never filmed. 'The Laurel & Hardy Cabaret' is a bumper package of these routines, songs and dances from The Boys' 30-year career. Featuring some classic movie sequences, along with some hilarious Music Hall sketches the pair toured in the 1940s and 50s, you will be transported back to a more innocent time - yet still be amazed at how current their comedy remains. Take a seat and have some hard-boiled eggs and nuts washed down with soda... soda... soda... and what will you have, Stan?

 

Reviews:

THE LAUREL AND HARDY CABARET (Karen Wain-Pilmott, Buxton Fringe Review, July 2020)

Lucky Dog Theatre Productions present ‘The Laurel and Hardy Cabaret’. With Tony Carpenter and Philip Hutchinson offering an uncanny portrayal of the much loved Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, prepare to get sentimental.

The show draws from over 100 films and music hall routines spanning their 30-year career, so settle back and enjoy classic slapstick comedy, song and dance at its best. Look out for my personal favourite the “soda, soda, soda” skit from their 1929 Men O’War movie.

The audience was in stitches and it was great to see a whole new group of children discovering Stan and Ollie for the first time almost 100 years after the original performances.

With gentle nostalgic humour, this show will suit all the whole family from young to old.

Review comments: Saw them last year at the Buxton Fringe. I thought I couldn't laugh as much again but I did. - Toffee

Lovely show, well studied and affectionate tribute to the great comedy duo. - BFFFan

 

THE LAUREL AND HARDY CABARET (Sofia Luis-Hobbs, Leicestershire Press, 24th February 2020)

Laurel and Hardy are undoubtedly a classic comedy duo but they’re an acquired taste in this day and age.

And if I didn’t quite acquire it, it certainly wasn’t for want of trying. I grew up watching them on DVD with my dad. It wasn’t my cup of tea but I sat and watched nonetheless, as he was reduced to hysterics beside me.

It’s been years since I’ve seen any of their films, but when the chance presented itself to go and see a cabaret version of their act I couldn’t help but smile at the thought – not necessarily at the show but at the memories it sparked.

The show began with the immortal theme tune, triggering giggles around the room and I knew then that the next 120 minutes would be a trip down memory lane for everyone in there.

Well, pretty much everyone. The cabaret had drawn a mixed crowd to the Great Hall of the Guildhall, including several younger children and a toddler or two who cooed during some inopportune moments – but Tony Carpenter and Philip Hutchinson had it covered. Quick on their feet, they found ways to incorporate these noises off into their performance, particularly whenever Laurel needed a talking to – which, of course, was often.

The duo really are the full package when it comes to impersonating the iconic pair. Not only did they embody the characters perfectly, they bear an uncanny physical resemblance of the original Laurel and Hardy.

Carpenter, who plays Laurel, mimics the famous head wiggle, the outbursts of crying and sheer naivety throughout the performance to a tee. Hutchinson, as Hardy, gets to dominate, which of course brings with it the famous tie grab alongside a flustered laugh and pursed lips.

The cabaret includes an array of the duo’s classic sketches, from their earlier works to their final ones, as well as some sketches that were never released.

Performing famous routines from Swiss Miss, Men O’ War and Sons of the Desert, Carpenter and Hutchinson pull it out of the bag – and no, I’m not talking about the random things Carpenter seems to pull out of his bag to irritate his onstage partner.

Yet they also brought the act up to date, with a song performed to a photo of Susan Boyle. It was unconventional but a stroke of genius, alongside other tricks they had up their sleeves to get younger audiences involved.

Fun-filled and family friendly, the cabaret is a true homage to the duo, which Laurel and Hardy fans will be sure to adore.

 

THE LAUREL AND HARDY CABARET (Stan Fan, The Periwinkle, August 2019)

One Saturday in July I made the trip from Lancashire to Buxton in Derbyshire to finally see a show that I’d wanted to see for a while - ‘The Laurel & Hardy Cabaret’ by Lucky Dog Theatre Productions with Tony Carpenter as Stan and Philip Hutchinson as Ollie. It’s over five years now since I last saw Tony and Philip performing – when they appeared at Another Fine Fest in Ulverston with their ‘Hats Off To Laurel & Hardy’ show. The wait to see them on stage again with this new Laurel & Hardy show was well worth it, I’ve got to say!

The venue was a compact studio within the Arts Centre in the town, conveniently located right next to the stunning Buxton Opera House, which was designed by Frank Matcham (who also designed various other theatres, including the London Palladium and - closer to home for me! – the Blackpool Grand theatre). As I waited patiently in the bar in my Stan Laurel T-shirt with the other enthusiastic audience members before the show it was nice to see several bowler hats being worn as people were obviously getting into the spirit of it! There was a funny moment when we were queuing up to be let into the studio and we caught sight of a piano in the Arts Centre – I think we were all wondering to ourselves whether Stan and Ollie would turn up at any minute to carry it up a flight of stairs!  Sadly, they didn’t and the piano remained intact and untouched!

I can’t tell you what I was expecting to see but I was both surprised and impressed at just how good and well thought out it was. With a mix of recreated scenes from their films as well as all three of their stage sketches, the audience were taken on a non-stop journey through Laurel & Hardy’s career. Having only ever read about their stage sketches it was a real treat for me to see them brought to life – and it does make me wish that I could have seen them in person all those decades ago! The cabaret format worked perfectly and you could imagine the real Stan and Ollie doing the same type of show if they’d worked without supporting acts on stage.

It would have been very easy to just string together the most famous scenes that everyone knows and loves but there were pleasant surprises too, such as the ‘soda’ scene from ‘Men O’War’, and clever twists on the classic routines, like Stan singing and Ollie dancing (reluctantly!) at one point as well as Ollie singing ‘The Ideal of my Dreams’ to a framed photograph of Susan Boyle, which raised a laugh. Even when things didn’t go quite to plan – when Stan forgot what ‘relation’ he was to Ollie when visiting him in hospital during the ‘Birds of a Feather’ scene – the quick thinking and ad-libbing probably got a bigger laugh than if they got it right first time!

The one thing you can say about the show is that it is obviously a labour of love – well researched and well performed by two people who have grown into the roles ever since they started. The time and effort that has gone into creating this hour-long show is truly impressive, not only with the seamless joining of the routines but the subtle technical bits with the backing tracks all controlled onstage by Philip and Tony without the need for any other cast or crew – maybe they decided that they wanted to ‘eliminate the middle man’! Let’s hope that there are some more Laurel & Hardy gems that they can turn their hand to and put on another show.

If you haven’t had the chance to see it yet then I can highly recommend it – to quote a line from the title song of a musical ‘come to the cabaret, old chum’ - you won’t be disappointed!

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​THE LAUREL AND HARDY CABARET (Robbie Carnegie, Buxton Fringe Review, 14th July 2019)

The Steve Coogan / John C Reilly 'biopic' Stan & Ollie has reignited a nostalgic love of the routines of Laurel & Hardy. As established in the film, the duo toured extensively with stage versions of their sketches, and it is this that is recreated in this loving tribute.

The duo are brought to life by Tony Carpenter and Philip Hutchinson. Carpenter captures Laurel's diffident clownish persona, pricking the pomposity of Hutchinson's more worldly Hardy. Together they bring to life sketches such as Birds Of A Feather (in which Ollie is visited in hospital by Stan) and Men O'War, in which Stan and Ollie - dressed as sailors - attempt to buy two girls sodas in a bar. The sketches are punctuated by musical interludes, as ever generally delivered by the more musically accomplished Hardy.

The packed house at the Arts Centre Studio were brought together by a love of Laurel & Hardy and Lucky Dog delivered exactly what they wanted - polished, affectionate and joyful renditions of this classic material - and, at the end of the show, the audience spontaneously joined in with the singing of On The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine, a fitting end to a nostalgic, thoroughly enjoyable evening.

 

​THE LAUREL & HARDY CABARET (Written audience feedback, Fringe TheatreFest, 30th June 2019)

*Amazing. Loved it. What a bit of fun. Well done.

*Heartfelt, funny and uplifting

*Fantastic

*Delightful!

*Absolutely brilliant

*Amazing. Such a talented pair

*A fantastic impersonation. A timeless comedy that was a pleasure to watch

*Wonderfully acted

*Fabulous show. A very talented duo. Many thanks

*It was really funny and Laurel & Hardy made me laugh

*Great show

*Beautifully executed. Amazingly well studied tribute. Watching the originals live could not have been different.

*Truly a fine thing. Transported me back to watching them with my grandad, 4-5 years ago. Just like them.

*Really entertaining. Great performances.

*Absolutely fabulous - loved it!

*2nd time I've seen them. Absolutely fabulous.

*Professional and hugely entertaining. Well done.

*Brilliant! Cried with laughter.

 

THE LAUREL & HARDY CABARET (Seraphina Allard-Bridge, Fringe TheatreFest Blog, 29th June 2019)

‘The Laurel and Hardy Cabaret’ – Lucky Dog Theatre Productions back with a show which will appeal to audiences of all ages.

Lucky Dog Theatre Productions are back in Barnstaple, and this time they bring a medley of Laurel and Hardy’s best work, with something for everyone – whether it be singing, dancing or the classic Laurel and Hardy comedy that we all love.

Familiar music welcomes us into the Baptist Hall, which is home to a variety of sketches over the next hour. Although decades old, the humour never seems dated and will appeal to audiences of all ages. Much of comedy nowadays rests on politics and cultural references, so the humour of Laurel and Hardy is a refreshing departure from this, relying only on the universality of the human experience.

​I think it is the rapport between these two performers above all that helps the comedy to resonate across decades and across generations; at times like parent and child, at times like squabbling siblings, the playful dynamic created on stage is a relationship that we can all relate to. Laurel’s naïve and earnest character is contrasted by Hardy’s exasperation, and Tony Carpenter and Philip Hutchinson’s carefully crafted characterisation perfectly captures this.

Over the performance, we are transported to a variety of places and situations. Carpenter and Hutchinson masterfully juggle their props and music in order to smoothly recreate the range of iconic sketches. Even the technical difficulties that were thrown their way were tackled with humour and charm, and the audience were delighted throughout.

Whether it is to relive the joy of Stan and Ollie or to discover them for the first time, The Laurel and Hardy Cabaret is well worth a watch.

 

 

Full list of all Fringe Extra, Barnstaple, performances here.