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'Happiness The Ken Dodd story by Matthew Reynolds and Mai Wadkins
The Ken Dodd play at the Hope Street Theatre opened the door to the life of the country's most hard working comedian from his beginnings as Professor Yaffle Chucklebutty, Operatic Tenor and Sausage Knotter and the Squire of Knotty Ash, leader of the Diddymen and the King of the Jam Butty mines comes to life.
Adam Titchmarsh's portrayal of the comedian with tickling stick in hand is first rate and he grows into the role as the performance continues from the early days through to the height of his fame including the record run at the London Palladium to the dark days of his tax evasion trial in the late 1980s.
The play deals well with an emotional scene and the death of Dodd's first love Anita Boutin who died in 1977 and the transition between Anita in the opening half and Ann Jones is beautifully done with Anita being remembered through the entire second act.
John Reynolds played Dodd's joke writer Eddie Braben and explores the sometimes fiery partnership the pair had over the years before Braben left to join Morecambe and Wise.
The part of Dicky Mint, Dodd’s lifelong ventriloquist partner is taken by George Garford and brings the puppet into a real life settings and the trio of Dodd, Dicky and either Anita or Ann gives the play a family feeling.
In the late 1970s Ken Dodd helped campaign for Margaret Thatcher and this period of history is very well played with Sam Bolton hilariously playing the former Prime Minister with great comic timing and making the character his own.
The famous tax fraud case of 1989 delves into the period. Christopher Lee Power played Brian Levison the prosecution Lawyer and Leo Hewitson played the defence lawyer George Carman who both connected well with the audience.
The period of the play also deals with the problems that Dodd had whilst the trial continued and during a dream scene all actors are on stage at the same time.
A special recognition has to go to Olivia Whitaker who took on a number of roles, the best one being one of the Diddymen which worked well with a fellow Diddyman and was great physical comedy.
The final scenes of the play got quite emotional when it showed the final days of Dodd's life but all was brilliantly acted and the standing ovation at the end of the play was well deserved.
Happiness The Ken Dodd play is co written and and co Directed by Matthew Reynolds and Mai Wadkins.
