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I haven't quite come to terms with exactly what 'Not Like That, Like
This' is. It's part musical, part tribute, part play, but it isn't totally
any one of these; initially I felt this was detrimental, but by the time
I was lost in giggling fits half way through the second act I decided
not to worry about it, and just let it be. Following a razzle-dazzle dance
routine introducing Cooper, the bulk of NLT,LT is like watching the magician's
equivalent of a rock-tribute band, with Callow performing as close a copy
of one of Tommy Cooper's shows as possible. The two halves of Cooper's
act are bridged with a cleverly written backstage scene where he dwells
on his life story and journey to success.
Recreating the act of one of the funniest magicians ever is an ambitious
project. The show must convince the audience, who mostly know some or
all of his material, that they are watching the real Tommy Cooper. This
is made all the more challenging by the fact that the very thing that
made Cooper so funny was his oh-so-subtle mannerisms: the little chortles,
the glances off-stage, the surprise at the success, and failure, of one
of his tricks. I am very glad to say that Jerome Flynn succeeds in this.
For most of the performance, he becomes Cooper; the smile is the same,
the way he moves around the stage, the baffled look - it is all there.
To be fair, he does not carry if off throughout the whole show; on occasion
the voice falters, or a little skip looks a little forced, but these moments
are rare, and considering that Flynn is the only person on stage for over
ninety-percent of the performance, this is more than forgivable. And for
me, it is always a joy to see the cup-and-bottle sequence performed; I
expect everyone will see one of his or her favourite tricks performed
here with the, ahem, style and panache that only Cooper could manage.
The central segment of the show is the dressing room scene. With only
twenty minutes or so of stage time in which to contain the complete biography
of Tommy Cooper, author John Fisher has to pack in the information. The
information is all there, although sometimes it is almost teasingly brief;
I was left with an urge for little more depth in the story. I wanted to
know more about his alcoholism, and his affairs. However, Fisher's aim
is clearly to create a celebration of Tommy Cooper, and the script never
expands on these blemishes.
The performance of his magic is hugely entertaining. It doesn't matter
how much of it you've seen before, or that you know deep down that this
isn't the real Tommy Cooper; in the end, it's just like you've always
thought seeing him live would be. The jokes are terrible, the tricks,
when they work, are all familiar, but the delivery and timing is the real
magic. And it is extremely funny - a fitting tribute to a marvellous magician.
Andy Cotgreave, 17.03.03
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