Being Tommy Cooper Review
Being Tommy Cooper
Grand Opera House, York
Reviewed by Emma Wasson
I had the opportunity to see Being Tommy Cooper at the Grand Opera House in York which is currently on its UK tour until 24 June 2013.
My tickets were waiting for me at the box office, the lady behind the desk found them immediately and was very polite.
All encounters with staff were positive. A member of staff was located at each entrance to the theatre and pointed us in the direction of our seats, the bar and the toilets. We also had a drink pre-performance and the girl behind the bar was friendly and served up promptly.
The theatre itself was clean and tidy and toilets were clean and tidy.
The actual play was very good. I remember Tommy Cooper as a child and have childhood memories of my mother laughing at his TV performances, but didn’t really know his life story. The play was well scripted and the cast were excellent. The gentleman who played Tommy Cooper was superb, he was able to take off Tommy’s mannerisms to a tee. At the start of the play Mr Cooper was telling jokes as you would have seen on the TV and at his venues and the audience was laughing along, remembering all his old jokes. At one point Mr Cooper came down from the stage and collected from 3 members of the audience a £5, £10 and £20 notes, he then got back onto stage and pocketed all the notes and nothing more was mentioned of this gag. We were left wondering at the end whether the 3 members of the audience had been reimbursed their money, or not!!!
However as the play progressed the storyline became darker the audience’s attitude changed and as the darker side of Mr Cooper’s life was revealed the audience remained calm and subdued. The actor playing Mr Cooper portrayed the darker side of Mr Cooper’s life very well, as he became more intoxicated throughout the play, the mannerisms he used depicted this very well. The play skipped from an early part of Mr Cooper’s life to the height of his fame and I felt that this was done well. The American actor from Las Vegas also changed his demeanour throughout the show as his gambling addiction came to light and his own desperations with life. Then the other two characters, his agent and his mistress portrayed the difficult side of Mr Cooper and what it was like to cope with him in everyday life that was not seen on stage.
Overall I thought the play was good, set in a good venue with an excellent cast. It was a shame as the venue was not full but this did not detract from the atmosphere and those present were clearly avid fans of Tommy Cooper.
I was pleased with the overall experience and would go back to another play there again. I would recommend this play to others, but I think it is probably suited towards Tommy Cooper fans as it incorporated a lot of his jokes.
I believe that the venue was value for money, our seats had a clear view of the stage and the performance at all times, apart from when he went into the audience below!
Rating: 4/5
For more information on tour dates or to book tickets click here.
