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LAUREL & HARDY by Tom McGrath 12 March to 27 March 1999 Directed by Simone de Haas Cast List Review Laughs Left Yet In Comic Couple Des Partridge - The Courier Mail - 19 March 1999 Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy were the original screen Odd Couple, forging their comic partnership in 1927, and proving a world-wide hit. The two were chalk and cheese, physically and in temperament. Beefy Hardy, with blue-blood Georgia connections, was usually straight man to Laurel's po-faced prankster. "Another fine mess you've got me into..." Together, they appeared in more than 100 films. English playwright Tom McGrath's affectionate look at the partnership clearly calls for two actors who can come reasonably close to resembling the famous profiles. Keith Daly as Laurel and Brad Ashwood as Hardy, manage to look astonishingly like the real comics, and handle the physical demands of their role proficiently. In a production that moves along very nicely, and has effective costumes, they skillfully revive the pair's comic routines with impeccable timing. Daly and Ashwood clearly have worked long and hard with their director. The opening night audience howled with laughter at the predicaments the pair found themselves in. McGrath's history also dwells on the not-so-funny moments, such as their nasty contract disputes with producer Hal Roach. |
