Alistair McGowan may have moved from TV to stand-up comedy but he’s busier than ever with a play, film and book. Viv Hardwick reports.

GOK Wan, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Lineker, Simon Cowell, Arsene Wenger, Frank Skinner, and Tony Adams are among the more unexpected impersonations about to be unleashed on North- East comedy fans by Alistair McGowan.

The star of BBC1’s The Big Impression is taking on his first live tour for a decade, which visits Middlesbrough Town Hall and The Journal Tyne Theatre.

The tour has been dubbed The One and Many ... by McGowan.

He’s determined to break back into stand-up with his familiar impersonations plus as many never-before-heard voices as possible.

Footballers, film stars, romance, animals, and “greenery” are on the 44-yearold’s agenda which involves just one man, a microphone and an astounding array of voices.

He decided to switch back to live tours following a panto appearance last Christmas where his solo spot got a good response from the audience.

“That made me think ‘it’s great fun doing the voices and people obviously really love them’. So I thought the time was right to go back.

“I would sit at home watching TV sketch shows and thinking ‘I don’t find this funny. If this is what makes people laugh, I don’t think I can do it anymore’. In 1988, John Cleese said ‘I’m retiring from comedy because I don’t know what makes people laugh anymore’. I felt the same.

“But suddenly along came Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse with their fantastic BBC1 sketch show, and I instantly got it. What they do is brilliant. They’re not trying to please anyone else – they’re just performing what they observe.

You can’t try and be like the latest 22-year-old – you just have to do what you think is funny. So here I am, back performing live and trying to make people laugh.”

McGowan realised it was four years since the end of The Big Impression and there were a host of newcomers to impersonate.

Adrian Chiles, John Terry, Bear Grylls, Harry Redknapp, Alan Carr, Fabio Capello, Jimmy Carr and Boris Johnson are ready for some send-ups by this experienced master of mirth.

McGowan won a Bafta and a Royal Television Society Award for The Big Impression while also gaining a reputation as an actor with appearances in stage shows like Little Shop Of Horrors, The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Measure For Measure and Cabaret.

“I did a Neil Simon play and 30 out of the 300 jokes always bombed. I thought ‘I’d prefer to do my own jokes that don’t work rather than someone else’s’. The great thing about stand-up is you can be your own script editor and constantly re-write your material. Stand-up is about inviting the audience into your world rather than producing something homogenised. I feel that now I’m realising my own voice.

Currently he has a new film out called Driving Aphrodite, in which he plays a Greek tour guide opposite Nia Vardalos and Richard Dreyfus and in recent weeks his new play, Timing, premiered at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington, London. A new book McGowan has cowritten with his Big Impression collaborator, Ronni Ancona, entitled A Matter of Life and Death (or How to Wean A Man off Football), was released on October 1.

He says: “I love doing all these different things at the same time. I like to do bits of everything simultaneously. I chose the title The One and Many not just because I do lots of different voices, but also because there are many sides to me and to all of us. I’ve never thought that only doing one thing is what life is all about.

There is such a richness in diversity.”

McGowan positively relishes being busy: “I’m booked up until January, but I love being busy. I don’t think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.. but, by God, my jaws are aching right now.”

Audiences adore impressions, and McGowan reflects on the popularity of his chosen speciality: “People really do love impressions. It’s like necromancy – people don’t expect that voice to come out of that face. There you are, talking like yourself when suddenly ‘bang, why is Louis Theroux speaking out of your face? That’s not right!’ People claim impressions are about puncturing pomposity, but ultimately they’re about audiences saying ‘that’s Adrian Chiles’ voice in your face’. They adore being taken by surprise like that. It’s the ultimate magic act.

“When people watch comedy, they love to pat themselves on the back and say, ‘that’s exactly what I think’. It’s the same with impressions. They may have been aware of something about Colin Firth or Gary Lineker, but until I point it out, they have never really analysed it. So when I say ‘doesn’t Gok Wan sound exactly like Simon Cowell, but camper?’, audiences recognise that and immediately laugh.”

He also knows that a lot of his puns work better if he puts on someone else’s voice.

“People can believe that Becks would make that mistake. So you’ve got the voice and you’ve got the gag – it’s a double whammy.

“But I haven’t done an hour before, so you might end up hearing 18 minutes of Becks.”

■ Alistair McGowan, Tuesday, Middlesbrough Town Hall Crypt, £15. Box Office: 01642- 729729 and next Friday, Journal Tyne Theatre, £15. 0844-493-9999