Theatre Interview: Dan Lewis

Dan, Steptoe and Son is already a famous sitcom with legendary performances. What's new compared to the TV sitcom?

Well, it's a classic family comedy. It's been around since the 60s, so it's an absolute trip down memory lane for a lot of the audience. Those in their 80s are having quite an emotional time, in a very good way, because they remember, for example, their dad would always make apple pie on a Friday, and then it'd be time for Steptoe and Son. They're remembering great family memories. And of course, their parents are no longer around, so it's a real nostalgia here. Also, we've spent a lot of time on the set, it’s so vast it actually resembles the actual cluttered house of the TV set. We’re really putting people into Steptoe’s home.

Have you got the stuffed bear? 

The one thing we couldn’t get is the seven foot stuffed grizzly bear!

You play Albert Steptoe, how did you go about preparing for your performance?

I'm a big lover of classic comedy, and I've watched these old British classics my whole life. And so I've always been able to do an impression of Albert, making my family laugh. Then, when I had the script, I just kept reading them, and watching and watching and watching all the different episodes. Eventually I managed to piece together the biggest segments of the show and get that voice. Obviously, I'm not 70 as you're probably aware, so I do have the magic of makeup and hair dye, both of us (actor George Lowe plays Harold) look and sound like the characters. Many people say to us after the show that if they close their eyes, it was like listening to the original actors.

What is it about Brambell and Corbett and their characters that resonated with audiences? And still does half a century later?

Well, Albert was really quite a horrible man, yet he was so lovable with it. But his son, Harold, could be equally as horrible. Yet it's quite clear that they also love each other. And I just think that they actually resemble a normal family. And of course, that stifling kind of atmosphere is perfect comedy, because friction is funny as long as it's not happening to you. So it’s watching this duo winding each other up and trying to bring each other down, but they still have that love there. It's closer to home than people think.

They can't live with each other, but they can't live without each other

Absolutely, 100% Yeah.

How did you get into acting and end up being Albert?

Yeah, this is our first classic comedy gig, but it's not our first gig. In fact, we've done pantomime all the way, and we just fancied a change, and I'm a big lover of all of the classics. Hi-de-Hi, Rising Damp and everything. But I just stumbled on Steptoe and I thought that it would work well on stage, mainly because there's hardly anybody in it. If you were doing Hi-de-Hi, you’d need about 12 people, and that makes it unviable. But Steptoe is literally two people. And that's really where it all materialized. We've got a couple of people in our company, one who’s won awards for a Shakespearean piece and one of the other actors has been in Midsomer Murders. So we're quite an eclectic range of actors.

And so you founded theatrical company Cattle Productions. Why was that?

I didn’t have any formal acting experience, but always did a little bit at the village hall when I was younger. And I really wanted to get into it properly, but I couldn't be bothered waiting in a queue of a thousand people for auditions, just for people to say ‘No’. So I created my own company. We started off writing our own shows. I've been very lucky. People enjoyed the shows, and it's gone from there.

I understand it’s a charity show, supporting a local good cause?

We support a local charity with every show we do, ever since we've started 14 years ago, and so far, we've raised nearly 30,000 pounds. For the Nottingham charity, we're supporting the Nottinghamshire Blood Bikes. It’s a lifeline for people. If you need blood on the quick they are there any weather, anytime of day or night, and that literally saves people's lives. We support charities that might not get the funding that mainstream charities do. Our company mottos is ‘make people laugh and donate money for charity.’

So do you think theatre is still relevant in the 21st Century?

I do. I'm very much a person for nostalgia, and you can’t get the same atmosphere sitting at home watching the TV or Tiktok. And I'll be honest, I don't really know what Tiktok is. There's something lovely, quaint, and nostalgic about a theatre and allowing yourself to be absorbed into a completely different world. It has a profound effect on people. I've had such emails from people who've come, for example one was from a woman in Aberdeen. She suffered so badly with mental health and anxiety that she couldn’t leave the house, but she really wanted to see our show, and that forced her out. And she's so glad that she did, because she had a wonderful time. So if nothing else, theatre can really help people in ways that we might not even think of.

Who's your favourite British comedian?

I would say that the pinnacle of comedy is Ken Dodd. Kenneth Arthur Dodd of Knotty Ash. Five hour shows at nearly 90 with people laughing from start to finish. I'm not sure you can have a better inspiration for comedy better than that. I could name Eric Sykes, Eric Morecambe, all of the Erics, it seems. But for me, Ken Dodd is the absolute pinnacle. And not a smutty word in sight.

What advice would you give your younger self now?

That's a hard question. Probably the advice I’d give myself is just do it. And I know I did do it. Yet many people would give up, but I think, if you've got one life, and I'm not getting into religion and different realms of things here, but as we know it, we've got one life here. So live it. Don't be a bystander. Don't  fall into the background. If you want to achieve something and you're interested in something, go and live your life and do whatever you want to do, because it may be the only chance you get.

Do you get nerves before going onstage?

When it's a brand new show, we don't know how people are going to react. Obviously, with something as fantastic as Steptoe and Son, you don’t want them to walk out thinking, well, it was okay. You want them to be astounded. So we get nervous that we're doing it justice and make them proud. But by now we know the show inside out. Word for word. So we don't get nervous anymore. Generally, though, if we were feeling nervous, we get in a group and go through the first few lines. And it just comes flooding back, and your nerves go down. But the best way to deal with nerves is to walk on stage and they'll disappear, right?

What's next for Dan Lewis?

Blimey, we've still got eight shows of Steptoe coming up. Obviously, the first one of those is Nottingham. And after that, we're going to do another pantomime next year. And we're also debating another couple of classic comedies. They're probably not going to hit the stage until early 27 but yeah, so we finish off Steptoe and then go straight into a pantomime.

Fantastic. Was there anything you wanted to add?

The one thing I’d say to anybody wanting to come, if they're not sure, we actually performed this Steptoe and Son Live show to family members of Harry H Corbett. And they said it was brilliant and that we did them proud. There’s no better accolade than that. So please come along, because even the family of the original actors enjoyed it.

Steptoe and Son-Live! performs in Nottingham on Thursday 16 October 2025. For tickets please visit Nottingham Arts Theatre.