Tickling sticks, a Dicky Mint puppet and a Yorick skull complete with protruding teeth will go on display in September as the Museum of Liverpool pays tribute to the city’s beloved comedian Sir Ken Dodd.
Dodd, who died aged 90 in 2018, is to be remembered in the exhibition Happiness! which is named after his signature song and will explore “the two sides of the much-loved Doddy” said curator Karen O’Rourke. As well as “the larger than life, quick-witted performer we know best” it will reveal “the deep-thinker and private man off stage, who diligently filled more than 1,000 notebooks with his jokes, observations and philosophy of comedy”.
Snippets from those notebooks will be loaned by the comedian’s widow, Anne, who often appeared in his shows. Dodd had told her to burn them after his death but she decided they were too culturally significant. Although they will be mostly kept private, selected extracts will illuminate the comedian’s life for visitors.
In a show that promises to be almost as exhaustive as the comic’s marathon performances, which could run for hours, other exhibits include his colourful tickling sticks; the shaggy red “moggy” coat Anne made for him to wear on stage; the ventriloquist doll Dicky Mint – one of his “Diddymen” characters – with whom he duetted; and a drum he played as part of his act. The Yorick skull from Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 film of Hamlet – in which Dodd appears briefly, rosy-cheeked, as the fellow of “infinite jest” – will also be on display.
An interactive “giggle map” will be based on Dodd’s observations from playing to audiences around the UK – as well as incorporating the reactions of theatregoers to his performances. Visitors to the exhibition will be invited to contribute their own memories of encountering Dodd and his wildly surreal comedy and will be able to enjoy archive footage of his jokes.
There will be filmed reflections from Lee Mack, Miriam Margolyes and Ian McKellen and a conversation with fellow Merseyside comedian Paul O’Grady, who died earlier this year. O’Grady was a huge fan of Dodd and said he had “a joke for every occasion”. “The sooner you laugh at the jokes,” Dodd told audiences during his sprawling comedy sets, “the sooner you can go home!”
Tickets for Happiness! are on sale now. It opens at the Museum of Liverpool on 9 September and runs until 3 March.
