• Grand Theatre Blackpool
  • |
  • Thursday, 29th July 2010
  • |
  • Call our box office on 01253 290190
  • |
  • Contact us
The Grand Theatre Blackpool

AN INTERVIEW WITH CLIVE MANTLE - JUS' LIKE THAT!

Show Details

16-03-2010 | Author: Press Office

Get right to heart of Clive Mantle before the Casualty star portrays the late, great comedian Tommy Cooper live on stage in
JUS’ LIKE THAT! – A NIGHT OUT WITH TOMMY COOPER
at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre on March 29th & 30th 

Interview by James Rampton

Clive says: “It’s such a privilege playing Tommy – I genuinely love the man. He is one of the funniest comedians this country has ever produced. So this whole tour for me is just an immense thrill.”


Clive Mantle and I are chatting in Islington, North London. The place holds fond memories for the actor, who is starring in the title role of Jus’ Like That! - A Night Out With Tommy Cooper - a compelling, hilarious and moving play about the hugely popular, yet troubled comedian that is currently touring the country and coming to a theatre near you very soon. 

The actor looks back in affection. “When I was a student living in a basement flat in Islington, I used to love watching Tommy and howling with laughter. Thirty years on, I’ve come full circle. I’m back in Islington and back with Tommy.” 

The show, which is written by John Fisher, who worked for many years with Tommy, celebrates the remarkable 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 our favourite comedians. It also shows the darker side of a man who had a turbulent relationship with the bottle. 

As a massive fan, Clive was simply born to play Tommy. 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 brings him vividly to life. 

He also conjures up Tommy’s unique way with a one-liner, delivering with rare aplomb such timeless gags as: “I got a new car for the wife yesterday ... not a bad swap.” The show is the closest you will ever come to seeing Tommy bringing down the house. All in all, Jus’ Like That! - A Night Out With Tommy Cooper makes for a ridiculously enjoyable night out. So get your tickets now for an uproariously funny evening. Book early, as they say, to avoid disappointment. 

But don’t just take my word for it. The critics have been equally bowled over by the show. The Daily Mirror raved that, “I laughed to the bottom of my soul,” while The Times called it “an unashamed Tommy Cooper celebration.” The Daily Telegraph’s comment was short and sweet: “miraculously funny.” 

The massive, 136-date tour of Jus’ Like That! - A Night Out With Tommy Cooper, which also features actress Carla Mendonça in a variety of roles, including that of Mary, his mistress, runs through to June. It is an enormous undertaking, but Clive just can’t wait. “This tour is going from Edinburgh to Truro, and from Cardiff to Lowestoft, and I’m so looking forward to it,” enthuses the actor, who lives between Devon and Wiltshire. 

“It’s such a privilege playing Tommy – I genuinely love the man. He is one of the funniest comedians this country has ever produced. So this whole tour for me is just an immense thrill.” 

Audiences are just as thrilled because – 26 years after the late, great comedian died in front of a live TV audience on stage at Her Majesty’s Theatre in the West End of London – Tommy remains toweringly popular. Clive, who is best known for his role as Dr Mike Barratt in Casualty and Holby City, reckons that the show works so well because it evokes strong memories of the peerless performer.
“We’re not trying to denigrate Tommy, or I believe the modern idiom is ‘diss’ him,” says 52-year-old, who is happily married to Zoe and is the father of a five-year-old boy, Harry. “We’re reminding people what an outstanding comedian he was and reminding them what made them sit glued to their TV every watching him and roaring with laugher. The show also gives them a glimpse of what went on behind all that.”

Clive, who also took the memorable role of Simon Horton in The Vicar of Dibley, goes on to expand on the qualities that made Tommy such an adored performer. “First 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 it!” 

Clive, who has harboured a burning desire to appear in this play for the past decade, adds that, “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 tremendous new skill. “It’s been a joy,” beams the actor, who starred opposite Tommy’s son, also called Tommy, in Robin of Sherwood during the 1980s. “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!” 

Even when Tommy’s heavy drinking started to take its toll, he still engendered great warmth. “Towards the end,” Clive muses, “he may have been drunk and stumbled over his words to the point of being shambolic, but he was still a fantastic performer. Also, he had built up such a wealth of affection that the audience forgave him. That’s reflected in this show. It’s affectionate because we still love him.” 

However, Jus’ Like That! - A Night Out With Tommy Cooper also shows that the comedian’s drinking spiralled out of control and made him occasionally harsh towards his loved ones. Clive thinks Tommy was impelled towards the booze by the relentless stress of his position. “Imagine the pressure to be Tommy Cooper all the time! The only thing that could help him deal with the expectations of millions was alcohol. It’s a frightening process. We all feel the need to satisfy the paying customers. If they’ve been good enough to put their hands in their pockets and come out to see you, you have to try to give them a good night out – and then some! He must have felt those pressures intensely. 

“Once you’re on that hamster-wheel, it takes an awful lot to prise you off. He went into a hell-bent nose-dive, and not even heart attacks could stop him. So many people tried to help him – Gwen, his wife, his children, and Mary, his mistress - but they couldn’t. He could be terribly cruel to them if he thought he was being denied – you always hurt the ones you love. I’ve known a lot of people with drink problems, but never witnessed anyone who went to the same depths as Tommy.” 

Clive carries on that, “he pushed himself so hard. That’s why for him, the most enjoyable part of the day was once the work was done. His day started at 11pm, but Tommy didn’t restrict himself to two or three hours. He’d drink through the night and would be found still going at 6am. He once appeared for breakfast at a hotel – not a usual sight – and demanded gin on his cornflakes!” 

The actor is a lifelong fan of Tommy’s and this show is the fulfilment of a long-held dream. So Clive was especially delighted when John came to rehearsals one day and allowed Clive to try on Tommy’s favourite fez, which had been given to John by Gwen. Clive says that, “I felt overwhelmed wearing it – it’s such an iconic trademark. John’s eyes were full of tears, and my eyes were full of tears. It was a bolt-through-the-spine moment.”

Clive closes by underlining his hopes about what people will take away from this marvellously enjoyable night out. “I hope it reminds people what an absolute genius Tommy was and why he entertained four generations so brilliantly. He made millions of people’s lives happier, and what could be better than that?”
INTERVIEW BY JAMES RAMPTON 


Jus’ Like That! - A Night Out With Tommy Cooper is an hilarious evening of non-stop entertainment featuring all the best gags and magic tricks that are synonymous with the much-loved comic. Bottle, glass, glass, bottle…

It is 25 years since the late, great Tommy Cooper died on stage at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End. Now, Clive Mantle (star of Casualty, Holby City and The Vicar of Dibley) re-creates the iconic entertainer at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre on Monday 29th March and Tuesday 30th March.

Jus’ Like That! - A Night Out With Tommy Cooper brings Tommy wonderfully back to life with all the familiar trademarks – the fez, the laugh and the magic. Clive Mantle (Dr Mike Barratt in Casualty and Holby City and Simon Horton in The Vicar of Dibley) was born to play Tommy Cooper – a devout fan of the gangling funny man, he too is 6’4” and has size 13 feet!

One of the nation's most beloved natural clowns, Tommy Cooper was one of the few entertainers who truly deserved the title 'comic genius'. His unique, eccentric, deceptively simple humour brought magic into British comedy.

Jus’ Like That! - A Night Out With Tommy Cooper is written by John Fisher – who has compiled the acclaimed new Tommy Cooper Joke Book – and directed by Patrick Ryecart. Clive has also been working with Geoffrey Durham (aka The Great Soprendo) on perfecting all of Tommy’s fabulous magic tricks. Before your very eyes you will see pigeons appear, bottles disappear and hear all the jokes that Tommy made famous.

Whether you are a Cooper officianado or not, don’t miss this exceptional evening of good old-fashioned variety celebrating the life of one of Britain’s favourite comedians.

Jus’ Like That! – A Night Out With Tommy Cooper starring Clive Mantle (Casualty, Holby City,The Vicar of Dibley) is at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre on Monday 29th March and Tuesday 30th March.

All seats £17.50
Children £8.50
Concessions available

Book your seats now by calling the Grand Theatre Box Office on 01253 290190, online at
www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk or at the Grand Theatre information sales point in the Houndshill Shopping Centre.


Follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook for up to the minute show info and theatre gossip, news and reviews.


Don’t forget - Parking is available at a discounted rate at the secure West Street Car Park, directly opposite the theatre’s entrance. Book your parking ticket when you book your show tickets from the Box Office and you can have parking from 5.30pm until 12.30am for only £2.50!

Ends…


Notes for Editors:

These performances of Jus’ Like That! – A Night Out With Tommy Cooper are generously supported by Thwaites.


Clive Mantle is now available for interview


Clive Mantle
Clive spent 5 extremely happy seasons with the National Youth Theatre, before training with RADA, from where he graduated in 1980 clutching the Shakespeare Prize.
Clive was in constant work from the start and had very fortunate early breaks in television, film, theatre and radio. Robin of Sherwood was a magnificent experience both in terms of finished product and television education, and ran for 3 halcyon years in the early 80s. In One Ear was a Sony Award winning weekly comedy show, which went out live on Radio 4 on Saturday nights, an experience which certainly sharpens the performers focus. The film Party Party got Clive’s film career started in earnest, and the early theatrical pinnacle came in 1984 with his performance as Lennie in John Steinbeck’s immortal American masterpiece Of Mice and Men. It earned Clive an Olivier award nomination and a ‘Plays and Players’ award.
Clive has since spent long periods in the West End, at the RSC, on many tours, and in the provinces, but tends now to tackle a major theatrical piece every 2 or 3 years.
In mid career after films like White Hunter Black Heart (where he became the first actor to beat Clint Eastwood up and live to the end of the film) he became Mike Barratt in Casualty - a blessing and only a slight curse. Such an impact was made by his character that for a long while after leaving the show and its spin off Holby City, he was marginally shackled by his successful portrayal of a caring doctor and it was only until his roguish cad in Vicar of Dibley that the audience accepted him as something else. But what can you expect if you’ve been in 16 million peoples living rooms once a week for 7 years.
Returning to theatre tours, films, and TV guest appearances followed this high profile period and now films like Into the Storm and Morris: A Life With Bells On are reinventing Clive into his fourth decade as a professional actor.
Comedy has always played a huge part in Clive’s career and apart from Vicar of Dibley he has appeared in Bloomin’ Marvelous, Bottom, One Foot in the Grave, Fry and Laurie, Smith and Jones, The Robinsons, Hello Mum, Lenny Henry Show and Drop the Dead Donkey amongst many others, and now as Will Mellor’s dad in White Van Man.
Clive writes, grows vegetables, and treks to extremely high altitudes in the Himalayas. When resting he divides his time between Wiltshire and Devon with his wife Zoe and son Harry.


Classic Tommy Cooper Jokes
“I bought some HP sauce the other day, it’s costing me 6p a month for the next two years.”

“So I got home, and the phone was ringing, I picked it up, and said ‘Who’s speaking please?’ And a voice said ‘You are’.”

“I rang up a local building firm, I said ‘I want a skip outside my house’. They said ‘We’re not stopping you.’”

“I had a ploughman’s lunch the other day. He wasn’t happy.”

“I went into a French restaurant and asked the waiter ‘Have you got frog’s legs?’ He said,
‘Yes’, so I said, ‘Well hop into the kitchen and get me a cheese sandwich.’”

“Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating
fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off.”

“I was a surprise to my parents. They found me on the doorstep. They expected a bottle
of milk.”

“Do you know it’s been 70 degrees in the shade? I was clever. I stayed in the sun.”

“I joined a golf club last week. It keeps coming apart.”

“I feel wonderful. There’s nothing like a cold bath. Full of hot water!”

“I went to an old film yesterday. Ben Hur. Liked Ben, didn’t like her. Huh huh.”

“A man came out of a doorway and said ‘Have you seen a policeman?’ I said ‘No.’ He
said ‘Stick em up.’”

“My wife phoned me before the show. She said ‘I’ve got water in the carburettor.’ I said
‘Where’s the car?’ She said ‘In the river’”

“I slept like a log last night. I woke up in the fireplace.”

“I always call my wife ‘Dear’. She’s got antlers growing out the side of her head.”

“A man walked into a bar. It was an iron bar!”

“A woman went to the doctor and said ‘I’ve got a bad back.’ The doctor said ‘It’s old age.’
She said ‘I want a second opinion.’ He said ‘You’re ugly as well.’”

“I’m on a whiskey diet. I’ve lost three days already.”



For further Grand Theatre press information, interviews, images or review tickets please call:
Sarah Jane Wright
Press Officer
Grand Theatre, Blackpool
01253 743252
Email: sarahjane@blackpoolgrand.co.uk