A question of taste: Michael Twomey

CORK theatre stalwart Michael Twomey was one half of the Chah and Miah duo on 1970s TV show Hall’s Pictorial Weekly.

Thu, 16 Apr, 2015 - 01:00

Des O’Driscoll

He will appear in ‘That’s Entertainment’ at the Everyman on Sunday, a show that features many of the classic hits from the golden era of the MGM musicals.

Best recent book: I’ve just finished One Leg Too Few, the story of the English comedy duo, Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore. The title of the book comes from their most famous sketch, where Dudley Moore, as a one-legged man, auditions for the role of Tarzan in a forthcoming film. When Cha & Miah appeared in the early 1970s, there were those who thought we were imitating Cooke and Moore, who did a similar act to ours on English TV. Not so — we didn’t even know then that they existed.

Best recent film: The last film I saw was Interstellar. While I appreciated the astonishing technical effects, overall I thought the film a bore.

TV viewing: I very much enjoyed Downton Abbey and Mr Selfridge. I enjoy documentaries about travel and wildlife in exotic, far-flung places and I have a particular penchant for docs on ancient Egypt and similar civilisations.

Radio listening: Talk radio — news and discussions on current events, local and national, and on special issues.

On what formats do you listen to music: Mainly FM Radio and, on my car player, from my own fairly comprehensive collection of CDs.

Musical heroes: The great songwriters of the mid-last-century, like George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Rodgers & Hammerstein. There are no modern writers of popular music to compare with them.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to recently: Anything from my collection of Frank Sinatra albums. Recently, I saw on TV a recording of Il Divo in Vienna and I thought it was super.

First show or performance that really moved you: I will never forget the extraordinary impact of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music when I first saw The Phantom of the Opera and Sunset Boulevard.

Best recent show: During my last visit to the West End, on the urging of a friend, I went to see a comedy entitled The Play That Went Wrong. It was a farce about a very inept company troupe performing a thriller and everything that could possibly go wrong did.

Best recent holiday: A visit to my daughter, Laura, and her family in Paris.

Best celebrity encounter: In the early days of the Cork Film Festival, I was one of the MCs and interviewers and so met many of the stars of that time. My outstanding memory is of my interview with the late Lord Richard Attenborough. His dedication to the world of film was quite stunning.

Tech habits: I’m a Luddite and a technophobe, and I just use my mobile phone to receive calls.

Unsung heroes: The Simon Community and St Vincent de Paul.