MORECAMBE Embarks on UK Tour Today

On the night of 28th May 1984 the best-loved comedian this country has ever produced died suddenly from a heart attack. Four years previously on Christmas Day 1977 The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special attracted 28 million viewers - half the entire population of the UK at the time. In the thirty years since Eric Morecambe's untimely death his popularity has not waned. With numerous tribute programmes, TV re-runs and DVD releases, his work, as one half of Britain's most popular double act ever, has been kept alive and introduced to a whole new generation of fans. In 2014 to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Morecambe's passing a brand new production of the Olivier award winning West End play that celebrates the life of the man who played all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order, embarks on a major national tour.

From Morecambe Pier to 'André Preview', from the last days of music-hall to Glenda Jackson, Morecambe offers a moving and gloriously funny portrait of the affectionate lad with the funny bones, the big-hearted perfectionist, the born entertainer.

This new production of Tim Whitnall's hit show once again stars Bob Golding who was nominated in the Olivier Award Best Actor in an Entertainment category for his extraordinary portrayal of the man who brought us sunshine. It is directed by Paul Hendy and designed by Julia Bunce.

The original production of Morecambe was awarded the Oliver Award for Best Entertainment in 2010 and Golding won an army of admirers for his extraordinary performance. These include some of the country's favourite comedians who were bowled over by the actor's extraordinary likeness to the man himself, many of these were Eric's contemporaries and friends.

Bob Golding has had a varied career as an actor, a director and voice artist and musician. His theatre work is extensive and has taken him all around the country. The original production of Morecambe premiered at the Assembly venue Rainy Hall at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was immediately snapped up for a West End run. Bob also performed as Eric at the Royal Variety Show later that year. His TV work includes, Mr Selfridge (ITV drama), Peter Kay's Britain's Got the Pop Factor & Possibly a New Soapstar Super Strictly on Ice, comedy sketch show Watson & Oliver. He has been co-host on Dave Gorman's Sunday Morning Show on Absolute Radio and provided the voices of 'Milo' and 'Max' in BBC's Tweenies.

Tim Whitnall is a BAFTA and Olivier Award winning writer and playwright. Last year his single drama Best Possible Taste - The Kenny Everett Story was screened on BBC2. Examining and celebrating the colourful life of another British broadcasting legend, Kenny Everett and starring Oliver Lansley and Katherine Kelly, the film received immediate critical praise and went on to be nominated for several major industry honours, with Whitnall himself winning the Breakthrough Talent Award in the 2013 BAFTA Television Craft Awards. His 2005 acclaimed theatre play THE SOCIABLE PLOVER was made into a feature film by Poisson Rouge Pictures and Solution Films (re-titled as THE HIDE). For this work, Whitnall was nominated for Best First Feature Length Screenplay category in the 2010 Writer's Guild Of Great Britain Awards.

Paul Hendy is a writer, director, producer, actor and TV presenter. For TV he presented The Disney Club, Don't Try This At Home with Davina McCall, Wheel of Fortune, the BAFTA nominated Dear Mr Barker and the cult classic Stash the Cash. His critically praised novels include Diary Of A C-List Celeb and Who KillEd Simon Peters? Alongside a career in writing and television, Paul has always been passionate about pantomime. He has performed in twenty-five professional pantomimes, has written over fifty scripts, and for the last thirteen years has directed at least two major pantos a year. His company Evolution Productions has a reputation for producing some of the funniest and most spectacular pantomimes in the country. Paul is a lifelong fan of Eric Morecambe but does not share his interest in Luton Town FC.

Eric's son, Gary Morecambe says: "Bob is a family friend, and never fails to astonish us with his knowledge and understanding of my father, Eric Morecambe. On stage, his performance captures the spirit of Eric, and cleverly delivers the important bits of his story in a whistle-stop tour of his life that is quite astounding to behold. I never get bored watching him in full 'Eric' flow, and am delighted to be a small part of the team bringing back this unique performance to theatres around the country."

The tour kicks off today and tomorrow, March 28 and 29 at St Albans - The Alban Arena.

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