Williams Stars In UK Tour Of BEING TOMMY COOPER, From May 2013

BEING TOMMY COOPER, a new play by Tom Green, will begin a 39-date national tour at the
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre on Friday 3 May starring DamIan Williams as Tommy Cooper.

Las Vegas, 1954. In a small hotel room the up-and-coming Tommy Cooper faces the prospect of his first big failure. With the show closing and a warring relationship with his manager, Tommy finds an offer on the table and a drink in his hand. Powerful, provocative, painfully funny and true, Tom Green's astonishing play celebrates the brilliance in Britain's most famous comic and explores the pressures and loneliness of fame. The man who could make you laugh just by walking on to stage comes vividly alive in this confrontational new play.

Tommy Cooper is one of Britain's best-loved comedians. After his television debut on the BBC in 1948, Tommy went on to star in many variety shows in a career that spanned four decades, most notably on London Weekend Television from 1968 to 1972 and on Thames Television from 1973 to 1980. By the mid 1970s he was one of the most successful and recognizable comedians in the world. Tommy died in 1984, famously collapsing from a heart attack on live television in front of millions of viewers during his act on variety show "Live From Her Majesty's".

DamIan Williams is well known to television audiences as the presenter of "Damian's Are You
Smarter Than A 10 Year Old" on Sky One. Other television credits include 'Ginger Gahagan'
in "Billy Webb" and "Alfonzo Bonzo" for CBBC, 'Lumpy' in "Spatz" for CITV and 'Ian' in ITV's "The Bill". On stage Damian is well known as resident Dame at the Sheffield Lyceum theatre, a role he has played for the last five years. He has also appeared in repertory seasons all over the country in roles including 'Bernard' in "Don't Dress For Dinner", 'Reece' in "Communicating Doors", 'Hugo' in "Spider's Web", 'Gerald Thornton' in "Time And The Conways", 'Michael' in "Dancing At Lughnasa" and 'Frank' in "Educating Rita". Damian's many touring credits include 'Lurcio' in "Up Pompeii", 'Bob' in "Straight and Narrow", 'Dennis' in "One For The Road", 'Nick' in "Dead Funny" and 'Oliver Hardy' in "Laurel and Hardy", as well as lead roles in "Lucky Sods", "Run For Your Wife", "The Mating Game", "Hi De Hi" and "Bedside Manners".

Tom Green's plays include "Talking In Bed" at Theatre503, "The Death Of Margaret Thatcher" at the Courtyard Theatre and "Antigua" at the Finborough Theatre. Radio plays include "For Ever England" and "The Tent," both for BBC Radio 4.

Being Tommy Cooper will be directed by Cecily Boys, whose credits include "The Church of IfEyeHad" at the Bush Theatre, "Talking in Bed" at Theatre503, "Bed", "Pinter...esque", "Hang Up", "Waiting for Godot" and "Oleanna" at the Old Bomb Theatre at York Theatre Royal and "The Merchant of Venice" and "As You Like It" for York Shakespeare Company. Work as Assistant Director includes the UK Tour of "Yes, Prime Minister", "Three Days In May" at Trafalgar Studios and "Lysistrata" at the Rose Theatre, Kingston.