INTERVIEW
EDUCATING HORSHAM
Stephen Tompkinson and Jessica Johnson are a couple in real life and will be performing together this September. They are heading to Sussex to tread the boards in Horsham, Robert Veitch chatted to them while they cooked dinner together
S
tephen Tompkinson was born in 1965, in Stockton-on-Tees, and has an elder brother, John. The family moved to Scarborough in 1969, then relocated to St. Annes in 1971. Dad, Brian managed a branch of the Yorkshire Bank, while mum, Josephine taught nearby in Blackpool. Stephen went to school in Lytham and later in Blackpool, growing up with a love of cricket and acting. Laurel and Hardy were his heroes and he has both their autographs. AA Milne’s Winne the Pooh, written in Hartfield and set on Ashdown Forest is among his favourite books.
It’s a joy to do such a great play and once the train leaves the station, we’re off and running Aged 18, Stephen won a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After his grant was withdrawn, his parents backed him financially and their faith was rewarded two years later when they saw him performing. He graduated in 1988. Since then, Stephen has gone on to appear in a host of familiar TV programmes including: Drop The Dead Donkey, Ballykissangel, Grafters, Bedtime, Wild at Heart and DCI Banks. In 2019 he returned to the stage to set out on the 40th anniversary tour of Educating Rita. Two years and three lockdowns later Stephen and his co-star, Jessica Johnson are bringing the play to Horsham’s Capitol Theatre from 7-11th September for 8 performances in the penultimate week of the seven-week run. August 2021 | SUSSEX LIVING 9
