Simon Cartwright

Howerd’s End:

Cartwright's meticulous performance of Howerd was superb. It was well-crafted, yet distantly close. Cartwright particularly excelled in recreating some of Frankie's stand up, complete with the comfortable dealing with a heckler and including them in future gags.

James Weeds – Eastern Daily Press

The ghost, a skillfully done recreation of the man by Simon Cartwright, has come to make things right and the result – there is a lot of audience interaction and some of Howerd’s stand up is recreated – is touching, very funny and rewarding. There was a lovely moment, a Howerd one, the night I saw it when Cartwright hands a jacket to a member of the audience to hold and asks who he is, and then, importantly, where he comes from. The young man replied Turkey. “Ah, delight” cried Howerd getting on with the oohs and the ahs and the titters you not.

ReviewsGate

Simon Cartwright's Frankie moves beyond impersonation to capture the pained complexity and self-loathing of a man struggling with life and love. His physical resemblance certainly helps but it's the unmistakable verbal tics he delivers so brilliantly. At the play's outset the stand-up routine sections created much tittering in the opening night audience but as we learned more about the men behind the act the laughter lessened, and a more sombre mood took over.

Theatre Whippet

Cartwright has the eyebrow-work, the pout, the hand-flap and the ungainly charm, all bang to rights. It makes all the more dramatic the scenes where he is shy, unpleasant, cold, screaming at his therapist (Dennis taking the part) or collapsing into drug-fuelled hysteria.

Libby Purves

As Frankie Howerd, Simon Cartwright skillfully treads a tightrope in a performance that remains both recognisable and real without falling into simple caricature. His Howerd is a sympathetic, gentle giant, a little boy lost in a sexually-abusive past, adrift in a secretive and uncertain present, complacent about the Christmases yet to come. It’s a quietly powerful performance that grows louder in the remembering.

Get Your Coats On

The Man Called Monkhouse:

Alex Lowe’s monologue – directed by Golding - has one major asset: a superb impersonation by uncanny lookalike Simon Cartwright, who was even endorsed by the man with the golden smarm himself: “You do me better than I do,” he once told him…The actor offers a masterclass in Monkhousian mannerisms: the drawling inflections, the way he sculpts the air as he talks. It’s all there, including the self-satisfied aura.

Dominic Cavendish – Telegraph

The Man Called Monkhouse is a well-executed example of a dead comic play, where Simon Cartwright captures Monkhouse’s infectious voice and mannerisms so uncannily that you feel you really are in the room with him – he even does his own warm-up …Cartwright delivers a remarkable portrayal that has a huge guaranteed audience.

The Stage - Nick Awde

The shock is instant when actor/impressionist Simon Cartwright arrives on stage as Bob Monkhouse in this triumphant one-man play. His resemblance to the late comedian is so complete, it’s actually quite eerie. He captures every grimace and leer of that perma-tanned face, every oscillating idiosyncrasy of that unmistakable voice, with laser-like accuracy.

The Scotsman – Paul Whitehouse

Simon Cartwright’s portrayal of the late comic is masterly. Not just in the faultless mimicry of every vocal pause and contrived arm movement, but also in making this ‘robot in a shiny suit’ into a real person with emotions.

Chortle - Steve Bennett

Simon Cartwright’s arrival as Monkhouse is startling - he appears out of the darkness, and his uncanny likeness takes your breath away. The jokes are delivered with Monkhouse’s precision timing - every gesture and facial expression taking you back to the comedian’s glory days…Cartwright as Monkhouse is quite stunning.

Allan Crow Fife Today

Simon Cartwright’s impersonation of the suntanned clown borders on the miraculous. The dazzling Simon Cartwright is so good he’s bound to get a second tilt at this terrific role.

The Spectator

Simon Cartwright truly is as close to the legend that is Bob Monkhouse as you could hope. The mannerisms, the voice, the perfect delivery of the jokes, it is all there. Standing before you at the start of the play finishing of his routine, Monkhouse is alive and well on the stage. It wields a truly exceptional performance from Simon Cartwright and for any fan of Bob is a must see.

A Small Mind at the Theatre Blog – Royal and Derngate Theatre

Actor Simon Cartwright’s unsettlingly accurate portrayal of Monkhouse raises goosebumps the moment he opens his mouth and is deserving of the highest praise. A fascinating insight into the man behind the mask and a stellar performance from the leading man.

Lauren Humphreys – The Reviews Hub

It’s as if Bob Monkhouse were standing in front of us. In fact, Simon Cartwright even prompts a few gasps from the audience as the lights go up on his arched dark eyebrows and oddly orange face, as he resurrects the comedian and game-show host who died, aged 74, in 2003.And as he fires out Monkhouse’s profusion of one-liners, acting as if we were a television studio audience, Cartwright nails his subject’s clear, almost courtly middle-class tones; each phrase is a set-up and punchline in itself, as the voice rises for emphasis then falls for reassurement. Masterly.

Dominic Maxwell - The Times

And from the very first gag, we truly are in his company: Simon Cartwright delivers significantly more than a mere impersonation. Simon Cartwright surpasses imitation. Every carefully judged raised eyebrow, the carefully judged half-cough that delays delivery of a saucier gag is there. When you consider how tightly controlled Monkhouse’s stage ‘clown’ was, it’s all the more remarkable that the performance we see here is so three dimensional, so true. Ultimately, it earns and justifies the title The Man Called Monkhouse.

Fringe Review - Andrew Allen

Simon Cartwright starts the show with some cracking one liners from Monkhouse’s career - it’s a great way to ease the audience in. His impersonation of Monkhouse is utterly amazing, channeling his voice and mannerisms perfectly. Those in the back row might easily be fooled into thinking the man has risen from the grave. It’s a sharp script backed up by a brilliant performance. Cartwright gives a faultless performance. Gosh, the voice, the rolling eyes, the mannerisms, even the jokes, are all there (and told with the same polish and timing as their originator).It is a tour de force performance that has you laughing one minute and almost sobbing the next.

Anne Cox Stage Review

Bob Monkhouse impersonator leaves fans convinced iconic star is 'alive' - Daily Star