Becoming Bob Monkhouse

New Fringe play to celebrate 'comedian's comedian'

Bob Monkhouse is to be the subject of a one-man Edinburgh Fringe play, directed by the star of festival hit Morecambe.

Bob Golding will direct The Man Called Monkhouse, 'a play that should have been done about Bob when he was alive!'

Impressionist Simon Cartwright, who recreated Monkhouse's voice from beyond the grave in a 2007 advert for the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation, is taking the title role.

The script is being written by Barry From Watford creator Alex Lowe, blending original material in Monkhouse's style with some of his own jokes, 'some absolute belters that I'd not heard before' says Golding.

Although Monkhouse's life was tinged with tragedies, the play, which has the blessing of the comedian's estate, will not be a 'tears-of-a-clown' portrayal Golding insists.

'We're trying not to delve too much into the darkness, because that's been done a bit' he maintains. 'We want to celebrate him and remind people of his life.

'Your cynical brain thinks "another play about a late comic". But actually, he had an incredibly interesting life. Not only was he this fabulous comedian and presenter, he collected all this stuff, it was borderline obsessive behaviour.'

Monkhouse, who died in 2003, enjoyed a versatile career as a writer, comedian, actor, presenter and gameshow host, while famously collecting a huge archive of comedy films and compiling notebooks full of jokes, sketches and programme format ideas, which were stolen in 1995 but returned after 18 months.

He was mocked for his perceived smarminess and sycophancy during the 1980s, the peak of his career presenting prime-time talent and game shows. But he attracted renewed critical respect in the decade after, winning a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1995 British Comedy Awards.

'He used to reinvent himself such a lot, he was always ahead of the game' Golding reflects. 'From being a cheesy, slightly insincere, orange-skinned game show host he became the comedian's comedian really. Those joke books were his lifeblood and when they were stolen, I think he felt very lost.'

The play, which will run at 3.15pm at the Rainy Hall in the Assembly Hall in Edinburgh, opens in 1995, with Monkhouse receiving word from his manager that his old comedy partner, Denis Goodwin, has just died, and will he say a few words at the memorial?

'So we find Bob waxing lyrical about his days with Denis, then it takes lots of twists and turns with his books and his life. It's just fantastic subject matter' says Golding.

He enthuses that Cartwright, who was began his acquaintance with Monkhouse appearing on his talent show, Opportunity Knocks in 1989, becoming 'a bit of an obsessive himself' and 'the country's leading expert on all things Bob', will be perfect in the role.

'When he comes on as Bob, puts the microphone in front of him, you get a little shudder down your spine because you feel like Bob's there' he says.

Golding, who won a Fringe First and was nominated for an Olivier Award for his own portrayal of Eric Morecambe, adds: 'There's a lot of room for nostalgia and Edinburgh's a good place to première a play like this.'

Here is Cartwright voicing the charity advert, using genuine footage of Monkhouse: