Alistair McGowan - Impressionist

18 x 18 in (45.7 x 45.7 cm) paper (Edition of 16)

24 x 24 in (61 x 61 cm) paper (Edition of 12)

The Story.

Alistair on a bench in Golden Square, London. Alistair has been performing on radio, television and stage for nearly 25 years. His portfolio of impressions is in the region of 200 voices, and whilst to the outsider his skill seems purely vocal, his hands are a vital part of ‘becoming’ the person he is imitating.

“Your hands can express so much. I often have trouble keeping them still. But they can really help me create not only the visual illusion of an impression (holding and using the hands in the manner of my subject) but they can also help (especially in a stand-up or voice-over situation) to change the voice. A movement of the hands creates a movement in the voice. It was a technique I learnt from a late, great voice artist called David Tate when I first worked on Radio 4’s ‘Weekending’ over twenty years ago. The first time I was aware of my hands having a life of their own was when I was asked to do an impression of Glenn Hoddle for a Scottish TV Comedy called ‘Only An Excuse’ back in the mid- 90s. I was fully made up as Glenn and really felt I was getting inside him. The  sound-man then asked me to stop with the zip on my manager’s puffa jacket as it was interfering with the microphone. But my hands kept going back to the zip. I then realised that it was what Glenn did. It’s not often something I think about or plan. The hands just take over.”