Names stick. Hence why Alfred Hawthorne Hill changed his forename to Benny. The former, according to the excellent Liam Tobin in the title role, sounding like a “low-grade solicitor”; the latter inspired by the American entertainer Jack Benny.
But it was another name which stuck like mud and prompted the beginning of the end for the performer once dubbed “the most famous comedian on earth” who at the height of his career commanded a television audience of over 100 million fans, including such luminaries as Michael Jackson and another comedy hero Charlie Chaplin.
That word being “sexist” closely followed by “seedy” which were used by the tabloid press and the new wave of alternative comedians spearheaded by Ben Elton to denounce his scantily clad Hill’s Angels.
A charge which hurt him personally and professionally for his show was pulled and his reputation like his career hit rock bottom. The latter word being the opening of Owen Thomas’s compassionate hour-long play, originally staged at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff in 2017, and the between a rock and a hard place he found himself at various points in his fifty-year career.
Another low point being his seven-minute set at the graveyard of comedians, the Sunderland Empire, where both he and Sid James “died”. The difference being that the Carry On actor literally died, whereas Hill was repeatedly heckled and booed off the stage. Far from the Garden of Love, one of two comic songs which bookended proceedings, in which he plied his trade during the more innocent sixties and seventies.
Unlike some of the other one-man shows about yesteryear entertainers at the Fringe, Benny, directed by Gareth John Bale, is more of a drama than an impersonation and gag-fest. Though Liam Tobin is physically and vocally adept at both, with Frankie Howerd, Bob Monkhouse and Eric Morecambe making fleeting guest appearances.
The recurring themes being his determination to succeed, his resilience in the face of setbacks, a defence of his saucy style (the girls provided the glamour he couldn’t) and frugal existence (“I never wanted stuff”), and his struggle to retain his privacy in the face of increasing press scrutiny.
There’s anger, hurt, frustration and despondency, but the balance between tears of a clown and twinkly-eyed joker is fifty-fifty. As demonstrated by the closing chase sequence set to his circus-like theme tune Yakety Sax (Hill’s father and grandfather were circus performers) which is both poignant and funny.
An ending which would have pleased Hill who only wanted to make people laugh and feel better about themselves. A wish which the creative team of Tobin, Bale and Thomas fulfilled with great heart and humour.
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