Blog: Last Of The Summer Winos

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On Sunday night I headed into London's glittering West End... well, London's glistening Bloomsbury, which is quite close, to see Mr B Fischer and Mr AT Smith in their show Last Of The Summer Winos at The Museum Of Comedy. ABSTRACT: it was dead good.

The Museum Of Comedy is a RIGHT funny old place, tho possibly not ENTIRELY in the way intended. It's the CRYPT of a Church and it is FULL of comedy memorabilia, which altogether gives it the air of a rather odd Church Jumble Sale. There seem to be a LOT of over-sized papier-mache heads of long dead comedians seemingly dumped on the back of chairs, and vaguely remembered props dangle from walls. I think a guided tour would be a MAGICAL thing to do, but failing that it's a tiny bit creepy!

It's still a GRATE place to see a show though - the sense of being in a damp cave makes it feel like you're in Edinburgh, and the room where the gig actually happens is fab. This show began with Bob and Drew coming in and shaking hands with everybody before offering round a tin of biscuits and then making cups of tea for those who wanted it. They also clearly indicated that this was NOT the official start of the show, which I am very much in favour of!

The basis of the whole thing was their BLOG where they have been watching every episode of 'Last Of The Summer Wine' from the very start, considering the growth of the characters and even, as the show itself pointed out, the wider transmedia aspects of the universe created. I mean, it all sounds MAD to me - what kind of LOONIE would want to spend years blogging about an entire fictional series in the original order to investigate character development and transmedia? KRAZY!

It was an extremely interesting, also funny, and especially AMIABLE evening in which they argued very forcefully for 'Last Of The Summer Wine' NOT being the boring, claustrophobic, OLD PEOPLE's show that I remember it as (largely due to watching it as a teenager round at my Nan's) but instead a British comedy classic with much richer THEMES and characters. It is the greatest tribute I can pay to this show that it actually made me want to go back and WATCH the programme again on purpose!

The most INTERESTING FACT was the SHOCK REVELATION that there was NEVER an episode with the three main characters going downhill in a tin bath! The idea that there WAS comes from a) an episode where Compo went downhill ALONE in a PORCELAIN bath and b) a BBC licence fee advert starring Reeves & Mortimer (and Matt Lucas) as "Three Blokes In A Bath". Well I never!

Also excellent was the fact that they had an INTERVAL halfway through - a normal Fringe show lasts for an hour which is just about fine when you're a) a gentleman of a certain age who b) has had a pint, but for an EXTENDED show like this one it was essential, and looking round the audience, most of whom were a) gentlemen of a certain age who b) had had a pint, it was very grateful received!

In summary then this was a funny and INFORMATIVE show that CARED for its audience by supplying refreshments and regular comfort breaks. If there is a higher recomendation for an evening out I have yet to hear it!

posted 27/3/2019 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

Yep!
posted 27/3/2019 by MJ Hibbett

Oh, I get it now. ABSTRACT is academese for TL;DR, right?
posted 27/3/2019 by

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