An Evening of Eric and Ern, the brilliant homage and celebration of much-loved comedians Eric Morecambe (1926-1984) and Ernie Wise (1925-1999), heads out on a brief tour to celebrate their joint centenary year.
Eric and Little Ern, written and performed by Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens, was first performed at The Edinburgh Fringe, to rave reviews and a sell-out run. The show then went on a hugely successful tour, which culminated in its first West End run at the Vaudeville Theatre, again to rave reviews and standing ovations. It was nominated for an Olivier award in 2014.
Where and when: Eric and Ern will visit the Lowry, Salford (24 to 28 Mar), Garrick Theatre in London’s West End on (29 Mar), and Morecambe Winter Gardens on 16 May for a special performance coinciding with Eric Morecambe’s birthday weekend.
I caught up with Ian Ashpitel and Jonty Stephens to find out more about their long association with Eric and Ernie, how their partnership has evolved, and which routines they enjoy the most.
How did you first become interested in Morecambe and Wise?
Ian: I guess, like the majority of the population of Britain, they’ve always been there. From my earliest memories of watching TV as a young boy of 6 or 7, they’ve been on my TV and when they were, we all watched them as a family. So in answer to the question it would be when they first made me laugh at the tender young age of 7!
Jonty: As a family, we always watched the Morecambe and Wise show. I can remember us all laughing hysterically at the shows. My Dad was always shouting “We-haay!” as Eric would, and wiggling his glasses. Plus doing the iconic paper bag trick! It was ingrained in me from a very young age the brilliant comedy and shared laughter. You always felt comfortable watching them, and people still do today.
Why do you think they have remained popular?
Ian: There are a few reasons I think. First and foremost, they were funny. They had a chemistry that you can’t fake. They were like brothers and because they met and started to perform as a double act in their early teens, they developed their act and their comedy timing in the cooking pot of the latter stages of British Music Hall and then, took all those experiences of touring with the top acts of the day and forged it into the double act that was at the forefront of the new entertainment phenomenon of the time – television.
They were then in the corner of our living rooms for the next 30 years or so. And they seemed to get better and better and funnier and funnier. But, unlike some comedy of the time, they still don’t seem dated. We still watch them every Christmas, and we are still laughing at those same brilliant comedians.
Jonty: The thing is with Eric and Ernie, they have always remained the same because of Eric’s untimely passing in 1984. Gary, his son, always said, “They were always two middle-aged men in suits!” Their humour stands the test of time, as they were never political, cruel or nasty. It was clean and funny! So every age of grandparents, parents and children! Unique in British comedy. Nothing like them today.
Both men would have reached 100 to coincide this/last year – what do you think they would have made of your show and the comedy world in general?
Ian: I genuinely hope and think they would have enjoyed what we are doing, or rather, I think they might been surprised and delighted that an audience in 2026 is still enjoying and laughing at their comedy.
Basically, we try to be as true and authentic to their memory as we can be. I think they would have understood that the comedy of today has, for better or worse, moved on from the heady days of classic British television comedy of the 70’s and 80’s. As much as they moved on from Music Hall in the 40’s and 50’s. I’m not sure they’d find all the comedy of today that funny, but there’s still enough out there for them to have enjoyed??
Jonty: We hope they would enjoy that audiences, new and established M&W fans, are still laughing at their comedy now. I’m sure they would be shocked, but hopefully happy that we’re still sharing the genius of Morecambe and Wise with the British public and also a new generation discovering and enjoying the comedy and warmth of Morecambe and Wise.
Do you have a favourite routine to watch or perform?
Ian: I love to watch the Cleopatra sketch with Glenda Jackson. I must have seen it hundreds of times, and it still makes me laugh, as does the Greig sketch with ‘Andrew Preview’.
For us, performing as such has to be the stuff in the flat or when they’re in bed together. They are mini sitcoms, and you have to acknowledge the brilliant writing of Eddie Braben, who created this back story that they went to school together and lived in a flat together with Ernie producing ‘Plays Wot He Wrote’.
The obvious line being “He won’t sell much ice cream going at that speed.”
Jonty: My favourites are so many. But to perform it’s got to be Greig’s Piano Concerto. We’ve morphed the Black & White original, where Ernie is the conductor, with Eddie Braben’s version with Andrew Preview…Privit….Previn! The anticipation from the audience is fantastic. But we also love doing the Vent act with Charlie the dummy. He always remembers his lines! We were given special permission from the estate to do this live.
What makes this new show different from your previous collaboration?
Ian: I think the main thing is that, after 10 years, we’re learning more and more about how to present the material. How to shape the show and make it fresher and ‘of the moment’. When you watch Eric and Ern on TV, they have an energy and persona that was slightly different to the live theatre shows that they did. We are performing material from both genres, and we do that live and in the theatre, so we have to be more proactive, as it were. Plus, every show is different because of how you time things with different audiences. Just like Eric and Ern did.
Jonty: We’re always tweaking and adding bits; we have some new routines, as well as some of the most beloved sketches and routines that everybody loves. Also, as it’s live, it’s never the same twice. Every audience is different!