FANS of Withnail and I are in for something of a treat when one of the main stars of the film, Paul McGann, shows up in his Liverpool hometown for a special screening of the cult classic later this month.
As part of Liverpool Comedy Festival, the Odeon in Liverpool One will be showing the 1987 hit comedy which chronicles the misadventures of two unemployed actors.
The screening, on Saturday September 26, will be followed by a live Q&A session where the audience will be able to to ask the star all about the making of the film and his life and career.
Paul McGann, one of the showbiz band of brothers that comprises Joe, Mark and Steve, was born in Liverpool in 1959 and attended Cardinal Allen Grammar School in West Derby. His teachers encouraged him to take up acting and at 18 he successfully auditioned for RADA.
After a breakthrough role in the comedy TV drama Give Us A Break, Alan Bleasedale provided him with his first dramatic role in the 1986 television serial The Monocled Mutineer in which he played Percy Toplis.
Paul McGann, ask him anythingBruce Robinson's Withnail and I came just a year later, with McGann playing Marwood opposite Richard E Grant's Withnail.
He went on to star in Hollywood movies The Three Musketeers and Alien 3 and played Lieutenant Bush in Hornblower. But a whole army of Whovians across the world know him best for his role as the eighth Doctor. McGann starred in the 1996 Dr Who TV film, a role he reprised in over 70 audio dramas and the 2013 mini-episode The Night of the Doctor.
Lewis Wright from the ODEON Liverpool ONE said: “We are honoured to have Paul McGann attending to give fans an in-depth, personal look into Withnail and I... It will be a night not to be missed."
Liverpool Comedy Festival runs until Sunday 4 October.
WITHNAIL & I, Saturday September 26, 7.30pm, followed by a Q&A with Paul McGann. Odeon Liverpool ONE. Tickets £15 from here.
