Tommy Cooper famously died in 1984 during a live TV performance and nearly forty years on, he remains one of the most respected and best-loved of television comedians and indeed magicians. Words like ‘unique’ and ‘inimitable’ can sometimes be overused but this was one performer to whom they truly applied. Accordingly, it was a bold and courageous move by John Hewer to bring Tommy Cooper back to life, before a live audience. There have been several theatre productions which tell the story of a comedian or show a particular aspect of their talents but ‘Just Like That’ (which was Tommy Copper’s catchphrase) is nothing short of a full-on Tommy Cooper show, showing all his mannerisms, talents and personality.
Many people still remember Tommy Cooper and his unique form of entertainment. “Just Like That” takes you back in time if you do whilst introducing to those not old enough to have seen ‘The Tommy Cooper Show’, not just a great comedian but also a whole genre of comedy which has (for the time being at least) been largely consigned to history; the world of the music hall. Going back to Victorian times, this was the route to television of many great comedians, including most notably Morecombe and Wise and Norman Wisdom.
This show is the work of Hambledon Productions, co-founded by Rachel and John Hewer in 2007 and based in Lincolnshire. John Hewer and Christopher Peters have done a brilliant job of bringing “The Tommy Cooper Show” back to life, in what is clearly a labour of love. Considerable research and time has clearly been spent perfecting both the actual act and all the personal mannerisms of the great comedian. It all looks so smooth and effortless that it is easy to forget that in lesser hands, much of Tommy Cooper’s jokes and act would simply not be funny and it was his personality and superb delivery working so well together which made the inane jokes and absurd magic tricks so irresistibly hilarious. Only when all this is fully taken on board it is fully appreciated what a challenge John Hewer set himself and what a triumph he has created with excellent assistance and musical participation by Christopher Peters.
So what was it about Tommy Cooper which made him so funny? The act was essentially just a combination of silly jokes and magic tricks going wrong (or at least appearing to be doing so). But that was the point!, This was simply pure comedy, bereft of expletive language, dirty jokes, political attacks, nasty satires or caricatures, cynical views of society or any other types of cheap ways lesser comedians seek to generate laughs. The butt of the humour, if at all at anyone’s expense, was in the self-deprecating style of the performer which Tommy Cooper made his own and has arguably only been equalled by Les Dawson. And if you have genuine actual comedy, what need is there to add swearing, filth, politics or personal attacks?
It’s worth noting as well that in becoming Tommy Cooper, John Hewer had the task of not just adopting the persona of the man himself but was undertaking a show requiring considerable dexterity and finesse. Just as Les Dawson was actually a skilled pianist, deliberately playing wrong notes all the time whilst holding a piece together, Tommy Cooper was a genuine magician, including being a full member of the magic circle. In seeing ‘Just Like That’, you don’t just see many tricks going wrong; you see genuine, skilled magic.
If you never saw the real Tommy Cooper, you won’t get any closer than seeing John Hewer in this excellent tribute to one our greatest ever comedy talents.
Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 10/7/19
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