Likely Lad Rodney Bewes to bring latest one-man show to Stourbridge (From Dudley News)

Likely Lad Rodney Bewes to bring latest one-man show to Stourbridge

5:00pm Wednesday 19th September 2012 in News By Bev Holder

TV comedy legend Rodney Bewes of the Likely Lads fame will be bringing another one-man show to Stourbridge.

The 74-year-old star will be bringing his acclaimed show A Boy Growing Up, which premiered at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to town on Friday October 5.

The production will see the TV funnyman, who is celebrating 60 years as an actor this year, reading a selection of short Dylan Thomas stories in his own inimitable style at Stourbridge Town Hall which he says he is quite fond of.

He said: “I always have good fun at Stourbridge.

“It’s such a jolly theatre that you don’t expect - this must be my fourth visit.

“I only do venues that I like - ones where there’s a good vibe.”

The former Likely Lad, who became a household name in the 1970s and 80s when the hit TV sitcom aired, has received rave reviews for his new show which he admitted he was nervous about performing at “super critical” Edinburgh.

But he needn’t have worried - one reviewer described it as “charming, chaotic and immensely entertaining” and dubbed it “vintage Bewes”.

His previous successful one-man shows have included Three Men in a Boat, which he performed in Stourbridge in 2010, and Diary of a Nobody.

This one, he says, was inspired by a show featuring Emlyn Williams in London’s West End which he saw when he was a student actor.

“I fell in love with the show,” he recalls. “And when I came to think about it all these years later I couldn’t think of a better one at all so I’ve adapted it to suit myself.

“I tried to find the Emlyn Williams script but couldn’t so this is my version.

“It features some very funny and very sweet stories.

“If you're going to get people away from the telly and out to the theatre it's got to be special.”

Those turning up late to one of his shows or careless enough to leave their mobile phones on may also find themselves written into the performance on the spot.

He said: “I love late comers and mobile phones going off – when people come in seven minutes late I come off stage and help them to sit down and say ‘would you like a programme?’ It calms everybody down and the audience love it.”

Despite his many years in the business he says he still loves touring.

“I’m stage struck,” he said. “I love it.”

And he does it all without the help of a stage manager, a director or a press agent.

“I do it myself - that’s the fun of it,” he said.

Tickets for the show cost £11 and they are available from the box office on 01384 812812 or online at www.dudley.gov.uk/entertainment