‘There is a bit of Frank in all of us’
WHAT better antidote to Covid than a dose of one of the nation’s favourite funny guys?
But wait! What if you turbo-charged that prescription: one of the nation’s favourite funny guys playing Frank Spencer! Returning to the role of the havocwreaking Frank, Joe Pasquale tells Vicky Edwards how he is once again embodying one of the greatest comic characters of all time.
A smash-hit on its debut tour four years ago, Joe Pasquale was all set to reprise his portrayal of Frank Spencer in the stage adaptation of the hit 70s TV show Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em when Covid arrived. But not even a pandemic can keep Joe - or Frank - from spreading laughter. With a beret firmly wedged on his bonce once more, Joe is looking forward to getting back to what he describes as “the most enjoyable job I have ever done.”
“It’s a show for now because it makes everyone laugh. You see the whole audience like a Mexican wave, as one, leaning forward in laughter. It’s wonderful,” sighs Joe, who recalls belly laughing at the antics of hapless Frank as a kid watching the original TV series.
But while Michael Crawford as Frank had the nation chorusing ‘Ooh, Betty!’ Joe has made the role his own.
“It’s my take on Frank, not on Michael doing Frank. Some of the physicality is there, but we’ve put my personality into it. It’s Joe-isms rather than Michaelisms.”
And while many refer to Frank as a man-child, Joe is quick to defend the character.
“He’s childlike, not childish; he believes in what he’s doing. He might always mess up, but Betty loves him anyway. For it to work she has to; otherwise he’d just be an idiot.
“There’s not an ounce of malice in him and he always sees the best in people. But he panics the way a kid panics, and then takes the worst possible way out of a situation. There’s a bit of Frank in all of us.”
Understanding the character is one thing. The physical demands of this show, however, are another.
“There are 128 pages of dialogue and I’m on 126 of them - it’s the War and Peace of scripts,” jokes Joe, adding:
“It’s like a rollercoaster; once it starts you can’t stop. I am literally in the moment and I just pray that the words come out.”
And, as Michael Crawford did in the TV show, Joe is doing his own stunts.
“Oh blimey, yes; I do it all. And I have to ice my legs after a show to recover from ‘falling’ down the stairs on the set. During rehearsals the bloke choreographing the stunts fell down the stairs and caught his knackers on the bannister. All he could suggest by way of reassurance was that I’d better wear a box!”
Based on an original story about Frank trying to get on a TV talent show, Joe loves that it’s a familyfriendly show and credits director and writer Guy Unsworth with knowing instinctively how to tickle everyone’s funny bones.
“He suggests the smallest change; a tiny nuance to get the comedy out of a line, and he’s always right. This kid is a classic comedy anorak who really knows his stuff. He has rewritten the script and peppered it with more jokes. Most of the original cast are back for the new tour, which says a lot.”
Joined by Susie Blake as Mrs Fisher, Frank’s disapproving mother-in-law, Moray Treadwell as Mr Luscombe, James Paterson as Father O’Hara and Ben Watson as Desmond, playing his long-suffering wife Betty is Spamalot co-star Sarah Earnshaw. Also in the cast are Nick Wray and Alice Osmanski.
“Susie is an experienced comic actress and she’s brilliant in the show. Sarah’s role is more difficult. She has to be softer and more likable. The relationship we have on and off stage is built on trust and affection.”
Knowing Joe as she does, Sarah can stop him deviating from the script almost before he thinks of doing so.
“She’ll give a tiny head shake that means ‘I know you’re about to do something and DON’T!’ She calls me the Unstoppable Moron,” Joe chuckles.
Unstoppable is right. As well as Some Mothers Joe constantly works on new comedy material, writes horror stories and is a talented artist – a skill he has been known to incorporate into his stand-up act.
“I am really aware of my mortality so you might as well live while you can,” he says, waving aside any suggestion that a long tour might be tiring.
“Touring in Some Mothers is a lot easier than my stand-up show. Then I usually do forty one-nighters. A week in one place is a holiday,” he beams, adding that there are certain places he is particularly looking forward to.
“I’m looking forward to going back to Hayes. The theatre is welcoming and the audiences are great. It’s also a lovely intimate venue – it will feel like people are sitting on the stage with us!”
As for playing Frank, while Joe knows he’s likely to collect a few bumps and bruises along the way, he’s used to ‘industrial injuries’, having previously got himself stuck inside a bingo machine and broken his toe while tap dancing.
Laughing, he says: “This show’s got danger written all over it. I wouldn’t want to be my understudy!”
But it all adds up to a show that is big on heart and rich in fabulously silly and blissfully uncomplicated joy. I’d advise you get those tickets booked. Leave it too late and you might, as Frank might say, ‘have a bit of trouble.’
Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em is at the Beck Theatre Grange Road, Hayes, from Tuesday April 12 to Saturday April 16. See visit becktheatre.org.uk for tickets or call 0343 310 0044.