Directing a West End show about Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin

Michael Barrymore is back working in showbiz – directing a West End show about Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin.

The presenter, 71, has barely worked since 2001, when father-of-two Stuart Lubbock drowned at a party at the TV star's Essex home. 

However, it has today emerged that he has been active behind the scenes on the show Laurel & Chaplin: The Feud, which opened a run of six Monday-night shows at London’s Cambridge Theatre this week.

There is no mention of Barrymore’s involvement in the show on its website, but the fallen presenter today gave an interview to the Daily Star in which he says: ‘I’ve never directed before. I didn’t know if I’d be any good at it but I’ve found I’m a good director. It gives me as much as a buzz as being up there [on stage].’

The production, written by producer Jon Conway and starring his son Jordan, tells the true story of teenage best friends whose relationship broke down when Chaplin found fame in Hollywood.

The pair toured together for two years with Fred Karno's music hall troupe, with Stan as Charlie’s understudy. Yet Chaplin never mentioned Lauren in his detailed autobiography.

Laurel & Chaplin: The Feud premiered at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe under the subtitle Before They Were Famous, rather than The Feud. It received a two-star Scotsman review (‘despite the heartfelt and nuanced performances given by our two leading men, the eventual disintegration of their relationship lacks emotional depth’) and five stars from Get Your Coats On.

In his interview, Barrymore talked about cleaning up his life says that ‘despite all the shitty bits that have happened in my life, I still have never lost the desire and passion for what I do’ and he claims he gets up to 1.5million messages online every year ‘from people who are genuinely lovely… it proves that what ever state you get into it’s worth hanging on’.

Lubbock,  a meat-factory worker, was found unconscious in Barrymore’s pool. The coroner recorded an open verdict, saying: ‘None of these witnesses who were party guests for three hours have given to this court an explanation about how Stuart Lubbock, a previously fit 31-year old, should be found floating in a swimming pool at the premises with a significant level of alcohol and drugs in his system and have serious anal injuries.’

In 2007, Barrymore was arrested on the suspicion of his murder, but no charges were brought. A £20,000 reward for information offered in 2020 has still not brought police any closer to knowing what happened.

Published: 26 Jul 2023