(Image: PA MEDIA)
County Durham-born comedy star Rowan Atkinson is returning to the West End with his first sketch show there in 40 years.
The Mr Bean and Blackadder star will perform at London’s Gillian Lynne Theatre next year.
The 71-year-old, who grew up in the North East, will star in Rowan Live, mixing his best-known sketches and characters with new material.
The show marks Atkinson’s return to his comedy roots, 40 years after his last West End sketch show.
The production will run for 30 performances from February 8 to March 13, 2027.
Rowan Atkinson (Image: PA MEDIA)
Atkinson said: “It is 40 years since I last did a comedy sketch show in the West End.
"I thought it would be fun to perform again the sketches that began it all for myself and Richard Curtis, and in which my most well-known characters originated; alongside some surprise new material written especially for this show.”
Rowan Live will reunite Atkinson with key collaborators from his career’s biggest comedy hits.
Atkinson has created new material with long-term collaborators Richard Curtis, Ben Elton and composer Howard Goodall.
He said: “I first saw Rowan perform on stage in 1976, 50 years ago, and it was instantly clear to all of us that we were watching a unique, once-in-a-lifetime talent.
“50 years later, this summer, we started putting this show together in front of a small audience, and all that magic, that unique accuracy and comic genius is still there for all to see.
“It’s such a joy and honour for me to be part of a show that will include the very best of Rowan on stage – all his voices, shapes, faces and characters.
“I hope it will make people very happy.”
Howard Goodall composed the music, and Raz Shaw will direct the production.
It is Atkinson’s first West End sketch show in 40 years, but not his first appearance there during that time.
He last appeared in the West End in 2013, starring in a revival of Simon Gray’s Quartermaine’s Terms.
The announcement adds another chapter to a career that began far from the West End.
Atkinson was born in Consett in County Durham in 1955 and spent his early childhood on his family's farm in the Blackhill area.
His father, Eric Atkinson, was a farmer and company director. His mother was Ella May Bambridge.
He grew up with his older brothers before attending Durham Cathedral Chorister School and St Bees School in Cumbria.
He returned to the North East to study electrical and electronic engineering at Newcastle University.
Rowan Atkinson (Image: PA MEDIA)
His comedy career took shape after he moved to Oxford for postgraduate study.
Atkinson found fame on the BBC’s Not the Nine O’Clock News in the late 1970s before starring as Edmund Blackadder.
But Mr Bean would turn him into one of Britain’s most recognisable stars worldwide.
Mr Bean made his television debut in 1990, and Atkinson’s largely silent, disaster-prone character became an international hit.
More than 30 years later, Mr Bean remains closely linked to Atkinson, alongside the voices and characters from his sketch-comedy career.
Atkinson’s ties to the North East go beyond his childhood, despite spending much of his adult life elsewhere.
His former family home near Consett has been marketed as a holiday property, with its link to the star promoted to visitors.
His passion for cars has also brought him back to County Durham.
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In 2001, Atkinson crashed a rare Aston Martin V8 Zagato into a barrier during an Aston Martin Owners Club event at Croft Circuit near Darlington.
He was not seriously injured.
Atkinson has remained a keen motoring enthusiast, owning and racing valuable performance and classic cars.
Now, 50 years after Curtis first saw him perform at Oxford, Atkinson is returning to the live comedy that launched his career.
Tickets for Rowan Live go on general sale at 12pm on Wednesday, October 7, after priority booking opens.