Fear. Possibly the most debilitating feeling and the biggest barrier to freedom. I have felt a sense of fear for most of my adult life. As a child, I was fearless and would try anything. Yet, over time, that feeling gradually became erased and a new mindset became embedded within my thinking. Safety and security became central to my life. I went to university, trained to be a teacher, and was successful in my work. I had a regular wage, a brilliant career, a pension (very important), and the knowledge that I could pay my bills and my mortgage. This was safe and I knew that, as long as I was safe, I was ok. Was I happy? I thought so. I had everything that society dictated I should. I was everything society said I should be. Well, almost: that’s another story. Importantly, I was financially secure and independent. All good.
Two years ago, the pandemic hit, and something in me changed. Suddenly, I was not ok. Suddenly, I didn’t recognise myself. I felt a fear that I had never felt before; a terror. Everything I knew and understood was threatened. This terror was to become a turning point in my life; the beginning of an exciting journey.
At the time, it was far from exciting. Like millions of others, I was thrown into turmoil; so many unknowns, so many questions, so many fears. Fear. That word again. For 20 years, I had been living with the same mindset, a mindset that was debilitating and restrictive. A mindset that I didn’t even realise I had. I was fortunate in that destiny had plans for me and brought the most extraordinary, perceptive and truly wonderful friend into my life. A person who was so much like me in many ways yet, at the same time, the complete opposite of who I was, or who I thought I was. This was a person who was to unlock the closed door in my head and show me that there is a whole world out there. Freedom.
Deep inside myself, I always dreamt of something else. I didn’t know what that was but I longed for something different. As a teacher, I had become institutionalised. I loved my job but I had become defined by it. The person I had become was a construct; a product of other people’s expectations and conditions of worth. During my teaching career, I had developed another passion. A passion for supporting other people, listening, helping, supporting and guiding.
I then considered leaving my present job, but then the doubt set in. Of course I had to stay with my job. It was secure, it was permanent, it was safe. It was me. The thoughts in my head repeated this unrelentingly. Plus, I might fail. Leaving my job was too big a risk and it was all I knew. I did not believe that I could exist out of the teaching profession. I had reached a point where I had lost any concept of who I really was and could not see past the classroom teacher. Destiny once again stepped in and brought the most incredible people into my life. People who saw the world in a different way and helped me to recognise something special within myself. I realised that I was being held back by fear and it was controlling me completely. Fear of failure. I was its prisoner. What would I do if I left my job? Who would I be? Would I survive?
I took the leap and believed.
Three months later, I am in the most wonderful place. I have learnt so much. Most importantly, I have learnt the importance and value of taking risks. I am working as a freelance tutor which I love, and have made some wonderful new friends along the way. I am also studying to be a counsellor, I love my course and I am successful. I have control and autonomy over my life and my choices. I am discovering who I am – not someone new but the person I really am; the person deep inside my soul was lost a long time ago. She still there and I’m connecting with her. I’m loving getting to know her – she’s amazing! She’s intelligent, kind, brave, caring, capable, courageous, confident, self-assured. People like her a lot because she’s good to be with. More importantly, she’s learning to like herself. She’s on a journey and it’s a lot of fun. She smiles a lot. She is happy. This is who I am.
I have learnt the value of positive energy. I have learnt that I have something to give, I have something valuable to offer; I am going to do it. For many years I was a prisoner within my own mind. I was afraid to take a risk because my self-worth had become defined by others. Changing that mindset and taking a leap of faith changed my life and I would never go back to where I was. Making the jump was scary; it was brave but it was right. In doing so, I have not just brought something to myself but I am able to give to other people. That means everything. All because I took a risk; a leap of faith.
“Two shows for the price of one: laugh out loud comedy and some surprisingly sensitive piano playing.” – James Lisney, Pianist.
Alistair McGowan – The Piano Show
UK TOUR 2022
A Unique Mix of Classic Comedy and Classical Music
AND ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF A NEW ALBUM OF CLASSICAL PIANO MUSIC…
Master impressionist Alistair McGowan is embarking on a brand-new tour during Spring 2022 which combines his incredible comedy talents with his new-found passion for classical piano music.
Alistair McGowan – The Piano Show opens on Thursday 31st March 2022 in Hexham, before heading to Barnard Castle, Alnwick, Cheltenham, Ivybridge, Taunton, Cardiff, Blackburn, Selby, Liverpool, Poole, Shanklin, Radlett, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Scarborough, Canterbury, Tetbury, and London’s prestigious Cadogan Hall.
After 25 award-winning years in the world of comedy, Alistair McGowan began playing the piano in 2015. Within two years, he had released Alistair McGowan: The Piano Album through Sony Classical which topped the UK Classical album charts and reached No 2 in the Classic FM chart. The album featured 17 short piano pieces by composers including Satie, Chopin, Field, Grieg, Schuman, Liszt, and Glass.
Since 2018, Alistair has been playing the piano publicly to great acclaim (despite the odd mistake!), and his move from comedy at the highest level into the world of classical piano is unparalleled. He thinks he is the first person to mix stand-up comedy with straight classical music in a live setting.
Without training as a musician, his ability to perform in public under pressure and then to slickly mix the music with his stand-up routines and endlessly changing roster of impressions of zeitgeist celebrities is truly impressive, sets him apart – and makes for a very entertaining evening which Alistair describes: “Two shows in one. It shouldn’t really work but, I’m repeatedly told, it does – thankfully. Audiences even seem to enjoy my mistakes, I don’t!”
Alistair studied piano for two years as a boy but gave it up in favour of football and tennis.
He began working as a stand-up comedian in 1989 and soon found work on radio and television as well as taking shows to the Edinburgh Festival including When Harry Met Ally with Harry Hill in 1991. His own television series eventually followed in 1999 and, over four years, The Big Impression became one of BBC One’s most highly rated comedy programmes, winning a BAFTA in 2002.
He has also worked on television as an actor in programmes such as Mayo and Bleak House and in the film Driving Aphrodite with Richard Dreyfuss. On stage, he has twice played Henry Higgins in Pygmalion, twice played The Mikado, and was nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance as the Dentist in Little Shop of Horrors in the West End, alongside Sheridan Smith. He has also written three biographical plays for Radio 4 about George Bernard Shaw and the composers, Erik Satie and John Field.
Alistair McGowan – The Piano Show demonstrates and showcases his love of all the art forms that have gripped him during his rich and varied career. And, in its two previous incarnations, he has introduced a new audience to short, classical piano pieces from composers including Cyril Scott, Yann Tiersen and Madeleine Dring, and has surprised classical music lovers by delivering – between the pieces – his impressions of Harry Kane, Raymond Blanc, and Roger Federer.
The 57-year-old says: “Rediscovering the piano as an adult has been a great joy to me and being able to share that joy with others is both a privilege and a huge pleasure – although I continue to be in total awe of trained pianists who can play far more intricate pieces than I could ever attempt.”
“After having to reschedule the tour due to the pandemic, I’m very much looking forward to this new tour and if it encourages someone else to follow their own dream, whatever their age, then that’s even better.”
Alistair has received plaudits from several classical musicians for the quality of his playing reminding us all that it is never too late to try to attempt what you love and what you and others may think is impossible.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY ABOUT ALISTAIR MCGOWAN
“Alistair McGowan’s impressions are faultless” – The Sunday Times.
“He plays piano splendidly” – The Observer.
“Alistair plays an impressive range of pieces with enviable touch and feeling” – Charles Owen, Pianist.
“Inspired and inspiring!” – Anthony Hewitt, Concert pianist.
UK 2022 Tour Dates
31st Mar Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
1st Apr The Witham, Barnard Castle
2nd Apr Alnwick Playhouse
6th Apr Parabola Arts Centre, Cheltenham
8th Apr Watermark Theatre, Ivybridge
9th Apr The Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Taunton
Check out these fabulous gifts for Mother’s Day from ‘Kerensa’ in glorious Cornwall, whose mission is to stock Eco Friendly, Ethical Gifts and Home Furnishings.
Here are our favourite finds, but be sure to check out their website for more fabulous gifts and furnishings – https://kernowretail.co.uk/
July 12, 2025 100 BC Julius Caesar 1854 George Eastman 1895 Oscar Hammerstein II 1927 Frank Windsor 1928 Kathy Staff 1935 Roy Barraclough 1937 Bill Cosby 1943 Christine McVie 1947 Gareth Edwards
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