Putting on the fez (From Watford Observer)

Putting on the fez

10:53am Thursday 25th February 2010 in

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As a massive fan, Clive Mantle was simply born to play his current starring role at The Radlett Centre next Wednesday.

The actor, who many people know as the caring doctor Mike Barratt in Casualty and Holby City, is in the title role of Jus’ Like That! A Night Out With Tommy Cooper.

Drawing on all the comedian’s familiar characteristics, the laugh, the fez, the bad magic and, of course, the catchphrase – “jus’ like that!” – the actor truly brings him vividly to life. Even during our interview, he conjures up Tommy’s unique way with one-liners, delivering with rare aplomb such timeless gags as: “My wife said she’d go to hell and back for me. I said she didn’t have to come back for me.”

The show, which is written by John Fisher, who worked for many years with Tommy, celebrates the career of a remarkable performer. Directed by Patrick Ryecart, Jus Like That! A Night Out With Tommy Cooper features all the best gags and magic tricks that helped make Tommy one of the nation’s favourite comedians. It also shows the darker side of a man who had a turbulent relationship with the drink.

“We’re not trying to denigrate Tommy,” says Clive, who shares his home with his wife Zoe and their five-year-old son, Harry.

“We’re reminding people what an outstanding comedian he was and what made them sit glued to their TV watching him and roaring with laughter. The show also gives them a glimpse of what went on behind all that.”

Clive, 52, who also took the memorable role of the roguish cad Simon Horton in The Vicar of Dibley, goes on to expand on the qualities that made Tommy such an adored performer.

“First of all he was a brilliant physical comedian. One of Tommy’s heroes was Arthur Askey, and Tommy wanted to be like him – nimble, dainty and precise. But he knew he wasn’t, and soon caught on to the fact that if he tried to be like that and failed, it was really funny.

“That wonderful physical comedy was coupled with his brilliance as a stand-up. He knew that if something is funny, it’s funny. He had many set pieces that people loved, no matter how many times they’d seen them!”

Clive, who has harboured a burning desire to appear in this play for the past decade, adds: “Tommy also had this other string to his bow, the magic. He cottoned on to the fact that if he did 75 per cent of his tricks wrong, people would roar with laughter. But to satisfy his own inner child, every so often he’d get one right. Audiences would revel in that – the buffoon who almost by accident gets it right. So while other performers had one or two elements in their act, Tommy had three. It was the combination of these three elements that made him so special.”

Having trained with Geoffrey Durham (The Great Sorprendo), Clive has mastered many of Tommy’s magic tricks and can now make pigeons appear and bottles disappear. He has relished learning this new skill.

“It’s been a joy,” laughs Clive. “I’ve been performing tricks for my five-year-old and my wife, and they’ve been baffled. If you can baffle a five-year-old, you can baffle anyone!

“It’s such a privilege playing him. “He was one of the funniest comedians this country has ever produced. So this whole tour for me is just an immense thrill.”

Jus’ Like That! A Night Out With Tommy Cooper at The Radlett Centre on Wednesday March 3. Tickets: 01923 859251 or www.radlettcentre.co.uk