Following its critically acclaimed UK premiere, leading stand-up comedian, presenter and actor Miles Jupp is to bring his heart-warming show about the life of Walt Disney’s consummate English gentleman, David Tomlinson, to London’s West End. Written by James Kettle and co-directed by Selina Cadell and Didi Hopkins, The Life I Lead will play at the Wyndham’s Theatre from 16 – 21 September 2019.
Best remembered for playing ‘Mr Banks’ in Disney’s classic film Mary Poppins and ‘Professor Emelius Browne’ in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, British actor David Tomlinson was renowned for playing the classic English gent: forthright, proper, and a loveable fool. His meeting with Walt Disney came to encapsulate his incredible life full of adventure and heartbreak. The Life I Lead sees Miles Jupp bringing David Tomlinson’s remarkable story to life.
As a World War Two fighter pilot, his early life contained action and adventure; but he suffered huge heartbreak with the tragic death of his first wife, and his fight to have his son Willie recognised as one of the first British cases of autism. The man who portrayed one of cinema’s most famous patriarchs was also defined by his relationship with his own father – a remote eccentric, who was hiding an extraordinary tragicomic secret.
The Life I Lead is a richly comic and moving tale of fathers and sons across the generations and fills in the blanks behind a very well-known face. The production enjoyed a UK tour from February – April 2019, opening at Exeter Northcott and including a two week run at London’s Park Theatre.
