Theatre: One Night Stan in Letchworth

COMEDIAN Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame takes to the stage at Letchworth Arts Centre tonight (Friday) as actor and writer Miles Gallant brings his critically acclaimed show One Night Stan to the town.

In a performance that one critic called “both tender and heartfelt”, he takes us back to the Palace Theatre, Plymouth, on May 18, 1954. Minutes before curtain-up, Stan Laurel sits alone backstage. Where is Oliver Hardy? Is this the end of one of comedy’s most celebrated double acts?

If so, what of Laurel himself? Performing is in his blood. Can he continue alone?

The audience is waiting, the theatre manager is keen for Laurel to appear.

He ponders the future, remembers the past, and is visited by memories of his father, former room-mate Charlie Chaplin, and Hardy himself.

The result is an evening of both tears and laughter in this brilliant drama.

Doors open at 7pm, with tickets �8 from the Arts Centre, situated in The Arcade.