From playing an unscrupulous reporter to a conflicted priest and now a comedy writing legend this Christmas, Weybridge’s Stephen Tompkinson is one of television’s most recognisable stars. Duncan Hall meets him on the set of his latest play
For Stephen the play was a chance to marry his passions – sport and theatre – as well as work with Patrick, whose children go to the same Surrey school as his teenage daughter Daisy. “I have always admired him very much,” says Stephen, who initially took on the role at Newcastle’s Live Theatre before its transfer into London. “I wanted to go back to Live Theatre – I had done a play there previously but never worked with [director] Max Roberts who has run it for 40 years.” Patrick’s play made its 2015 debut at the National Theatre, but in its Newcastle incarnation it was completely reworked and relocated to the North East – home of the Northern League, the oldest football league in the country. “Before the manager had a Cockney accent,” says Stephen. “It was an image the audience had been fed ever since the black market spiv of First World War. Immediately there was too much distance between the audience and Kidd.”
This story is from the January 2018 edition of Surrey Life.
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This story is from the January 2018 edition of Surrey Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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