ROLLING back the years, and bringing back the madcap humour and hysterical jokes of Tommy Cooper is the aim of John Hewer.
John stars in the Tommy Cooper tribute show ‘Just Like That’ at Barrfields Theatre on Wednesday May 24 at 7.30pm (Tickets - 689777), and already has the seal of approval from none other than the legendary comedian’s family itself.
There are plenty of illusions and magic tricks which go wrong, but just like Tommy, he gets them right again, before it falls apart in the most hilarious way possible.
John said: “The show came about as I wanted to create the all time tribute show to Tommy really - I contacted the family through his estate and they were very much behind it. I spent six months watching old Tommy Cooper videos and absorbing everything I could.
“I re-read his autobiography, and met his family, writers and colleagues, and looked at all his scripts.”
The two hour show is very much a celebration of a comedy master, and John has performed his show around the UK.
“I think the secret to Tommy’s humour is it appeals to all kinds of generations,” said John.
“A lot of people have great memories of Tommy and his magic from the golden days of tv, and now thanks to videos and then DVDS, new generations are becoming introduced to Tommy’s unique brand of humour. 
“I think the younger generation have no idea what to expect when they see an idiot wearing a fez doing a magic trick, but when the magic starts to go wrong, people begin to love it.” 
“This show is an opportunity to see what it would have been like to witness Tommy Cooper in his best environment working in front of a live studio audience.”
It was a measure of the esteem that Tommy Cooper was held that another of the greatest comics of British shores Eric Morecambe said that he would never follow Tommy on to stage.
The tribute show has been running for several years throughout the UK, and has won many plaudits, so this is a rare opportunity to re-live the classic comedy of Tommy Cooper which proved so popular to millions of TV viewers.