Theatre Review: The Bobby Thompson Story at the Theatre Royal
Faithful Portrayal of a Northern Comedy Legend by Pete Peverley 25 Years After Bobby's Death. Bobby Thompson had a colourful life. Born into a mining family in Fatfield, he lost his mum and dad when he was 8 and was brought up by his sister, He went down the pit at age 15 and supplemented his earnings by playing harmonica, playing domino tournaments and soon discovered his talent for stand-up. With a rise in popularity, then a decline as he failed to manage his own bookings and his fondness for drink threatened his career, Bobby wasn't the best at keeping himself in gainful employment. But new manager and a new outlook gave him a comedy career revival in the 70's but again, drink and health problems hampered any sustained success. With 3 marriages under his belt Bobby had a growing source of material for "her indoors" and "mother in-law" jokes. He was famously bad at looking after his financial affairs with his onstage persona expres...