The Bridge House Theatre welcomes Mark Farrelly’s highly-rated play Howerd’s End for five performances between October 7 and 11.
Award-winning Bob Monkhouse impersonator Simon Cartwright plays Up Pompeii! and Carry On actor Frankie Howerd and Mark, who has portrayed gay raconteur Quentin Crisp to great acclaim, appears as Frankie’s lover, manager and chauffeur Dennis Heymer.
The two-hander which is set at Frankie and Dennis’s Somerset-based home Wavering Down has won rave reviews. The Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise scriptwriter Barry Cryer called the play “Brilliant” while The Spectator said “Comedy gold.”
“Howerd’s End offers you the chance to experience the full span of Frankie Howerd’s extraordinary fifty-year stand-up career,” says Mark. “From his earliest days on BBC radio, to his glorious Indian summer as a student favourite in the 1990s. Frankie was a true survivor, and one of the greatest comedians we’ve ever shared time on the planet with. But the play goes far beyond that, to also offer a deep insight into Frankie’s offstage life, chiefly his enduring relationship with Dennis Heymer, who met Frankie in the 1950s and loved him till Frankie’s death and beyond. The relationship was a closely guarded secret for its 34 years, and through it all both men fought to find a way to truly love. We think of Frankie Howerd as a solo act. In reality he was a double act. Howerd’s End tells the authentic story of two remarkable lives, giving audiences the chance to say farewell to a legend and reflect on their own ability to love.”
Howerd’s End takes place at The Bridge House Theatre at 7.30pm on October 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. More details are at markfarrelly.co.uk
