Impressionist and musician, Alistair McGowan, talked to Katherine Passerieu about why he has been a supporter of the Barnes Music Festival for many years
Katherine: You last performed to a sell-out show at the Festival in 2019 and have a loving and enthusiastic audience. How has life been for you these last two years?
Alistair: Well, a lot has happened in that time. My wife and I have now left Barnes for Ludlow in Shropshire. We found the house before the first lockdown and finally snuck out in June 2020. We had a whole year to settle in here before restrictions lifted and I was able to go back on stage, which was at Lichfield cathedral with my Piano Show.
I have to say, having that enforced break was very much needed. I know I’m lucky to be in a position where not working didn’t impact upon me much, but I think after 30 years of almost non-stop performing in theatres, comedy clubs, television studios and, latterly, concert venues, it was a great chance to recharge the batteries. As a friend of mine said about her freelance work, it was nice not to have to ‘hustle’ for once. The only problem is that, when not performing for so long, the skin gets thinner and it is very hard to contemplate going back and putting oneself ‘on show’ again – with all that that entails!
K: What does the Barnes Music Festival (BMF) mean to you?
A: I have very fond memories of performing and debuting several shows at the BMF. I shall always be very grateful to everyone associated with it – including the fabulous audiences who let me expand by performing there.
K: What were your highlights over the last 10 years?
A: I think my first attempt at putting together a show about Erik Satie, which I performed at St Mary’s in 2016, was probably my highlight. It was a show I went on to perform at the Edinburgh Festival – to fine reviews – in a much shorter version than the one we put the people of Barnes through! In its first incarnation, Daniel Turner (the Festival’s founding Artistic Director) played most of Satie’s music, but I did play about four of his Gnossienes and Gymnopedies and it was in the church that night that I was heard by the good people at Sony who offered me an album deal off the back of it! So, that night at the Barnes Music Festival really changed the course of my life!
K: You love story telling – particularly about the life of famous composers. What does Rachmaninoff mean to you? It should be a moving maybe sad story – is there going to be some lightness?
A: His music when I first heard it went right through me. I have loved getting to know more of his work in recent years. I have even been tempted to try a few of his pieces in the , but even his ‘easier’ stuff has defied me. Lucy [Parnham, who will be playing alongside Alistair’s narration] plays Rachmaninov brilliantly and to sit next to the piano is a great thrill and one of the most enjoyable experiences of my performing career. I’m already tingling at the thought of hearing her play those pieces again. Sergei Rachmaninov’s life was not full of laughter and, apart from a couple of light-hearted moments, I’d be lying if I said that this is more a comedic evening than an emotional one. He was described as ‘6ft 6” of Russian Gloom’ and I think that was a pretty accurate description! But I’d swap my impressions skills in a second to have written what he wrote.
K: What is your relationship with renowned international pianist Lucy Parham?
A: It was Lucy who first got me playing the piano again in 2015 at one of her celebrity concerts at Kings Place. I have performed Lucy’s Rachmaninov show with her a few times now around the country and also her Debussy show at the BMF. She puts the shows together beautifully and informs audiences about the lives of the composers in a concise and telling way which always dovetails beautifully with her playing. It is an absolute treat and honour for any actor to work with her in these shows.
K: What are your current and future plans?
A: I have been out on the road with Jasper Carrott and I have my piano show to tour again – in which I mix 14 short pieces of piano music (from Satie to Shostakovich and from Gershwin to Glass) with my stand-up comedy – it shouldn’t work but it does! – from April to June.
I’d better get practising and thickening my skin!
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