Brian Beacom

THERE is little doubt Chic Murray was the godfather of abstract comedy.

Now, Chic is back with us. Not quite looking himself, but rather like actor Dave Anderson, in a new biographical play.

Chic Murray: A Funny Place For A Window, also stars Kate Donnelly as Murray’s wife Kate is delighted to be playing the lady who once formed a double act with her partner in the 1940s and 1950s.

“Maidie was on stage from an early age and it was her who persuaded Chic to become a comedian,” says the actress.

“Until that time, the former engineering apprentice was appearing on stage as an accomplished piano player.

“She talked him into becoming a double act, The Tall Droll and the Small Doll. And then, of course, his career went stratospheric.”

The play offers the chance to tell Chic’s story via a series of fantastic comedy stories and lines (Kippers; fish that like a lot of sleep).

It traces his journey from the west of Scotland to the West End of London, where he starred at the Palladium.

The play, by Stuart Hepburn, is set initially in Edinburgh, where the comedian has driven after recording an episode of hit TV show Tarby and Friends.

“He wanted to see Maidie,” says Kate. “He needed to talk to her. And we open up her box of memories and we flashback in time to cram in a whole marriage into 50 minutes. It’s a love story.”

But love stories don’t always have happy endings. Maidie suffered as Chic’s career grew. She really was reduced to being the support act.

“I think Maidie got fed-up with Chic’s wandering eye. We don’t know the details but there is a line in the play in which Maidie says ‘Chic could charm the knickers off a peewit’.”

Chic Murray was not a man whom you could describe as classically handsome. But, in showbiz, looks aren’t always a prerequisite for purposes of seduction. “Talent is always attractive,” says Kate, who adds, smiling; “Especially if you can make people laugh.”

The play is also very much a celebration of the man’s surreal comedy. Kate offers an example, grinning: “‘I went into a bedroom and the curtains were drawn. The furniture was real but the curtains were drawn’. He had a unique handle on things.”

Kate Donnelly grew up with a real appreciation of Chic Murray’s comedy talent. “My brother Jim used to pass off Chic Murray’s lines as his own,” she grins. “It was only later I discovered the reality.”

The actress knows the world of variety, having once appeared on stage with comedy legends Jack Milroy and Mary Lee. But she reveals performance is part of her DNA.

“My grandmother Lily was a Welsh chorus girl and dancer and she worked all over the country.

“She met my grandfather, a captain in the Italian army whose surname was Fattorini and they conceived my dad, born one night when she came off stage.

“But my grandmother couldn’t cope with the new baby and she handed over my dad to the Donnellys, and half a crown was exchanged.

“However, Lily stayed in touch as ‘Auntie Lily’.”

By total coincidence, Kate Donnelly attended drama school in Wales, and lived in the same Cardiff street where Lily grew up. “Sadly, all the family had died out by that point. “”

She adds, smiling; “Perhaps there’s a play in that story.”

Right now, Kate is focused on bringing Maidie Murray’s story to life.

“She’s a woman with a big heart who played down her impact on Chic.

“And it’s a fascinating period in entertainment history. It’s a time when women weren’t really allowed to be funny. “But Maidie was going to accept that. She was a real character.”

Chic Murray: A Funny Place For A Window Oran Mor, until Saturday.