Actor on stage for one-man spectacle
ROBERT Hutchinson is a 70-year-old local actor who goes by the name of Bob Young.
He is currently getting ready for his one-man show, William Shakespeare’s King Lear, written by Frank Bramwell, which will be on at Oldham Library Theatre on May 25 and 26.
In Shakespeare’s version, King Lear dies, but in this version he is trying to resolve his issues and reliving his past.
Bob explained: “Frank Bramwell was looking for someone of my age to play King Lear, so I auditioned and got offered the part. I could not resist it.
“The one-man performance will be a challenge. It is not for the faint-hearted, as I am on stage for an hour on my own.
“I will have to keep it moving.”
Bob has filmed a trailer which is online on his Facebook page: King Lear – Alone and his website, www. kinglearalone.uk.
Bob is an extremely busy septuagenarian. In the months leading up to Christmas he plays Santa at Hard Rock Cafe in Manchester and he is a regular singer at the Britannia Hotel in the city, where he is often joined by his wife.
When he is not performing, Bob can be found on the golf course, as he is a member Lancashire Entertainer’s Golf Society.
He added: “I don’t get to play as often as I’d like, hence my everincreasing handicap.
“I usually play two or three times a month. I have played golf a couple of times with Howard Broadbent who co-wrote the song, The Blackpool Belle and, coincidentally, one of my current golfing buddies is Norman Prince who was the lead singer with the Houghton Weavers, the band who made the song a hit.
“I don’t know if this is a good thing or not, but I don’t really get much time for any other hobbies.”
Bob told me about his most memorable roles to date, saying: “My most memorable film role was as John Shackle in The Rochdale Pioneers, with John McArdle and John Henshaw.
“It was shown on Film 4. I can’t believe how everything has fallen into place. I found myself on stage at the Lowry Studio doing A Parson’s Tale, also Onions Cry Too with one of my heroes, Arthur Bostrom, from ’Allo ’Allo. I was thinking ‘is this real? Am I doing this?’. It has been wonderful.
“I have been in two short films over the last two years which I have not even seen yet.”