Take your mind off the world with laughter: The Last Laugh by Richard Harris

Images above: The Last Laugh, Theatre at The Tabard

“Hilarious and moving” play to run from 9 November to 3 December

Witty satire The Last Laugh will start its run at Theatre at The Tabard next week, from 9 November – 3 December 2022.

Billed as a ‘hilarious and moving’ play about freedom of expression and censorship, the plot follows a beleaguered comedy writer who meets a stubborn government censor.

Chiswick playwright and local resident Richard Harris has adapted the play from the original by Japanese playwright, screenwriter, actor and film director Kōki Mitani.

The Chiswick Calendar spoke to Richard about why The Last Laugh has a particular relevance to audiences now.

The play is set in an unknown totalitarian state which is at war and where artistic expression is heavily controlled by the military government. The usual censor, a civil servant, is replaced by a soldier who has never been to the theatre in his life, so theatrical concepts are effectively alien to him.

As the writer jumps through the censor’s hoops, a new play emerges while the two very different men come to understand one another and build an unlikely bond.

As part of the Theatre at the Tabard’s relaunch season this autumn, some of the concepts such as war and censorship might resonate with audiences more so than they would have when the play first premiered in 2007.

The English version of the play began in Windsor, the first stop on a nationwide tour. It was also performed in Japan in English and was received well.

Directed by Nick Bromley, David Tarkenter (who starred in The 47th at the Old Vic) plays the censor and Matt Wake (starring in Lately and The Players of Dieudoné at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre) plays the writer.

The play explores what comedy is and why it is so important to laugh.

Images above: Cast members David Tarkenter (left) and Matt Wake (right)

“When everything is so bad, people need something to take their mind off it, they need laughter”

I asked Richard Harris if there was any particular reason why The Last Laugh was being relaunched now, and whether the play has taken on new meanings over the last decade with the war in Ukraine and the rise of the authoritarian right. He told me:

“When the theatre reopened, I spoke to Simon Reilly [co-founder of Theatre at The Tabard] and offered him this play and he liked it. That was the start of it.

“There are resonances. You know there are resonances in humour, what you can and what you can’t say now. When we decided to do it we weren’t looking for resonances, but they do present themselves with the way the world has gone and with things that are happening.

“We didn’t choose to do it because we thought it had resonances but it does seem there are resonances to be found.

“Though the lens through which the play is viewed might have changed, the basic message of the play remains the same.

“One of the things the writer, the young man, says to the censor is at times like this when everything is so bad, people need something to take their mind off it, they need laughter. We talk about the war situation, but this is something I hear all the time now [people say] oh thank god that was on because it made me laugh.”

Tickets

The Last Laugh is an intelligent, funny and moving play and plays for a limited four week run at Theatre at The Tabard.

Tickets are available from £15.00 – you can book on Theatre at The Tabard’s website at: tabard.org.uk

The Tabard is at 2 Bath Rd, Chiswick, London W4 1LW.

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