Norman Wisdom, Theatre Royal, Norwich

To the end, a little bloke who just wants to be loved

This month, after a show business career spanning five decades, Sir Norman Wisdom, 90, announced his plans to retire. But although he hinted last night that there was one more film he would like to do, an end of an era was clearly being marked.

In the Fifties and early Sixties Wisdom films were as eagerly awaited as a new Bond movie would later be (and in fact one beat Bond in the box office ratings).

The formula for his films was as simple as was Wisdom's shtick, that of the awkward, ordinary bloke who just wants to be loved but constantly finds himself out of his depth.

He has made optimum use of the pathos from his own life, an absent mother, alcoholic father and homelessness. Nevertheless, as much as you couldn't help pity either Norman Wisdom or Norman Pitkin, his film persona, what they gave back was more than they took in terms of unconditional love and desire to amuse and entertain.

This desire was always more important than the unlikely on-screen romances where you always felt the clown could never run away with the princess. In his own life Wisdom has been abandoned twice, albeit with one marriage lasting 22 years, and it seems that as the jester, the fool, his most important relationship was always to be with the public at large. Yet bitterness or sarcasm was never an option.

Last night his fans received a generous helping of Wisdom. Although physically sprightly, the ravages of time were a little obvious as he wavered slightly through a re-telling of his difficult early years. However, he has little problem with his memory and a Q&A session before the end allowed him to joke about rather more.

If his appearance at the microphone had been somewhat gentle up to that stage what happened next shook the theatre. His fantastic rendition of his signature tune "Don't Laugh At Me 'Cos I'm A Fool" was the moment everyone realised they had been waiting for. Wisdom sang a few other numbers and reprised "Don't Laugh At Me..." but the show could have justifiably stopped here, singing as he did with incredible vigour and clarity and summoning up the childhood memories of some of those in the audience and helping the younger generation understand why little Norman made such a big impact.