The Play What I Wrote Review: Hiddleston brings sunshine to Morecambe and Wise show

"I asked myself what will people need? And this seemed to me the perfect show."

Artistic director of the Birmingham Rep, Sean Foley, co-wrote and starred in The Play What I Wrote when it debuted back in 2001.

After 18 months of pandemic closures, he decided that the region needed joy and laughter for their Christmas show, and it seems he certainly knew what he was doing.

The Play What I Wrote is a comedic masterpiece. You'd be hard-pressed to find a show that would make you laugh more, even if you're not a devoted fan of Morecambe and Wise.

In the play, tensions arise between double act Dennis and Thom, as their aspirations start to diverge.

Thom, played by Thom Tuck, is sick of being the straight man who doesn't get any laughs (apart from anticipatory, delayed, and silent, as another character tries to persuade him).

Instead, the fickle and quite frankly awful scriptwriter decides to stage his own laughable play about the French Revolution.

Meanwhile, Dennis, played by Dennis Herdman, just wants to keep the double act going by restoring their tribute to Morecambe and Wise.

That's when Arthur - played by the scene-stealer that is Mitesh Soni - gets involved, with an hysterical range of disguises and personas to try and hoodwink Thom into performing the tribute.

All three actors are sublimely gifted at physical comedy, working so hard that their faces shine with sweat by the time you're 20 minutes in.

And they're so talented, they still steal the spotlight when Hollywood legend Tom Hiddleston takes to the stage.

The production includes a different mystery guest star every night for an added guessing game of fun - but presumably The Rep didn't want to waste the gold dust they had and have since used Hiddleston in four performances.

The guest stars should start to rotate again now, joining the likes of Kara Tointon, Denise Welch, and the beloved Mr Hiddleston.

Each celebrity is fully utilised in the script, with predicted brilliant gags about Hiddleston's most famous role, Loki, as well as traditional camp humour about his Shakespearean roles, for example: "You might have seen my Coriolanus?"

Tom is a brilliant addition to the cast and appears to be a fan of the legendary duo, as are most of the nation.

Generations have passed down their love of Morecambe and Wise, creating a powerful legacy that few other acts have managed to achieve.

It's why the theatre was rammed with excited people wearing face masks and why the auditorium was howling with laughter.

It's why the production has endured twenty years and still found the same devotion in its audience as it did when it premiered.

The Play What I Wrote is not a tribute act with mere imitations of famous sketches, but loving references to the pair abound within the piece.

Thom and Dennis sleep in the same bed, in a bedroom and flat that is faithful to the Morecambe and Wise flat.

When a skeleton appears in a mock dungeon within the play within a play, most of the audience know the gag that's about to follow.

Then there's the replica golden curtain, nods to several legendary sketches, and of course, the famous Bring Me Sunshine.

More than anything, this is a show about how two men loved each other, and how the whole nation loved them for it.

The Play What I Wrote is at the Birmingham Rep until January 1.

Tickets can be bought online at birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/the-play-what-i-wrote/