A legend of twentieth century sitcoms, from Hi-De-Hi to You Rang M'Lord, Jeffrey Holland is a real coup for the Watford Fringe Festival. He knows the Pumphouse well, having graced the stage on many an occasion, not least the recent comedy day, but Holland remained alive and alert to his audience, delivering his anecdotes with a smile and a twinkle.
Robert Ross is a historian of comedy and was a keen questioner, guiding Holland chronological through the high points of his career and eliciting interesting details and information of how his shows were put together, his impressions of key figures from the time (particularly the writers Lloyd and Croft), and his own comedy heroes. The discussion Laurel and Hardy was sharp and illuminating, and their comments throughout were supported by well chosen photographs and video clips.
It would have been lovely to have a question and answer session that involved the audience directly in the final section of the event, as you had the sense that these two friends had journeyed through this material frequently. A surprise question from the audience, or a moment of engagement with one of his many fans in the stalls would have added an extra layer of charm to this happily nostalgic interview. Nonetheless, Holland was without doubt, and continues to be, a hugely important figure in the landscape of British comedy (not to mention Hungarian comedy, as it turns out!) and it was a delight to hear him share his stories.
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