ACTOR and writer John Hewer brings his critically-acclaimed stage production Just Like That – The Tommy Cooper Show to the region next month.
The Grimsby-born star will don his fez at Middlesbrough Theatre and North Shields-based The Exchange.
He says: "To be honest, when I was first exposed to Tommy's work, I must've been about five or six, and I just didn't 'get it'.
"All the jokes I'd sort of heard before from my father and the magic was clearly just going wrong!
"However, a few years later, and I was watching his material again, and the supposed spontaneity and the subversive genius of his stage act really hit me. I've been a huge, huge fan ever since."
John has played the part at countless theatres and in ITV1 programme The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
He adds: "Taking Tommy's humour and his most celebrated routines into the live arenas, which was Tommy's preferred medium throughout his life, is such good fun and to be playing a part, however small, in keeping that legacy accessible, is a huge privilege."
*Just Like That – The Tommy Cooper Show is held at Middlesbrough Theatre and The Exchange on April 4 and April 20. More information at hambledonproductions.com
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