Events & Entertainment | Posted on April 9th, 2026 | return to news

TV star Alistair McGowan is coming to Wimborne

The impressionist’s live show on 29 April will feature gags, poetry and piano playing.

By Luke Graham

Best known for his celebrity impressions, TV star Alistair McGowan will soon be gracing the stage of the Tivoli in Wimborne Minster at the end of April.

McGowan starred in four series of BAFTA-winning show ‘The Big Impression’ alongside Ronni Ancona in the early 2000s, has a host of acting credits to his name, and regularly goes on tour to perform across the country.

But his upcoming show is a little different. ‘3-in-1’ not only features McGowan’s comedy, but he will also recite his own poetry and perform a dozen short classical piano pieces by composers such as Chopin.

“The show is three elements of my creativity. Three aspects of my life put together,” he tells me during an interview in January.

I was familiar with McGowan’s comedy work, but the poetry was a surprise. Was this a new passion for the 60-year-old?

“I have always written poetry, since I was 19. I was at university when I wrote my first poems. In 2000, when I was 35, I performed them for the first time and I had good feedback.”

It was another poet, Henry Normal, who encouraged McGowan to share his work with a publisher. His first book of poetry, ‘Not What We Were Expecting’, was published in 2024, and a second collection will be on sale at his show in April. What can audiences expect from his poetry?

“It’s sort of a dirty word, poetry. It puts a lot of people off coming to see something; they frequently think, ‘I won’t understand it’. I’ve been really pleased that people have said to me that my poetry is so accessible.

“Some of my poetry rhymes, some of it is short, some of it is funny, some of it is nostalgic, some of it is poignant. One thing I like to do is observational poetry. Something I’ve written recently is what I call sketch poetry, where I’ve sat opposite someone on a train or in a restaurant and written a poem about them, usually on my mobile phone. They’re snapshots of things I’ve seen or felt.

“One thing they are not is political. It’s the same as my impressions. I’ve never really done anything political. They’re certainly not political rants. It’s all silliness, fun, or odd ideas. There’s more emotion and poignancy with the poetry.”

Throughout our chat, McGowan slips into impressions of people like football pundit Gary Lineker and snooker player Ken Doherty. What are the challenges of doing impression comedy today?

“I’m always trying to keep up to date with the latest television and sports people.

“The problem I have now is that it’s getting so hard to know who people will watch and recognise, because watching has gotten so fractured.

“I’m less inclined to sit watching telly, especially when the shows I might be watching are not necessarily the ones that everyone will know.

“People [coming to the show] will get more impressions from mainstream television. I’m not scouring YouTube or Netflix or Disney. They will be mainstream impressions and one or two from football — not as many as I used to do, principally because they keep getting sacked!

“As a performer, you want people to recognise your art. The great shame is that people watch so many different forms of television now that the art for the impressionist and the art of the impressionist have become very different things. Comedy too, because our experiences of the world have gotten so different.”

What are some of his favourite impressions to do?

“I’ve always done lots of other comedians. For the way I put across my funny stuff, comedians’ voices are really useful, because they sell a joke.

“John Bishop is useful because his voice is so full of energy. David Mitchell is enjoyable to do. I quite enjoy doing Paddy McGuinness.”

Now living in Shropshire, McGowan is currently organising the Ludlow Piano Festival, an annual celebration of piano music. It takes place from 20–24 May.

‘3-in-1’ will be performed at the Tivoli on Wednesday 29 April. Tickets are available from tivoliwimborne.co.uk or the box office.