LESMURDIE Senior High School alumnus Chris Thomas is stepping into the shoes of one of British television’s best-known schemers later this month.

He plays Lord Edmund Blackadder in Harbour Theatre’s stage adaptation of the classic BBC comedy by Richard Curtis, Rowan Atkinson, Ben Elton and John Lloyd.

Directed by Dr Jarrod Buttery at Camelot, the production features episodes from the second series, set in Elizabethan England, with familiar characters including Baldrick, Lord Percy, Queenie and Nursie.

Mr Thomas said the invitation to audition for the title role came as a surprise.

“The director approached me several months ago and asked if I would be interested in auditioning,” he said.

“At first, I thought he meant one of the other characters – but when he said it was Blackadder himself, I became intrigued.

“It’s not a character I would ever have thought about playing, not least because I’m taller twhan Rowan Atkinson.

“Obviously, I still had to audition and prove my mettle, but it was the challenge of taking on the role that motivated me.”

Mr Thomas is no stranger to bringing television characters to the stage, having previously played The Cat in a production of Red Dwarf at the Kalamunda Performing Arts Centre.

“There is definitely pressure because there are expectations when you perform something so well-known and so well done,” he said.

“But having taken on well-known roles before, I had some idea of what it was like.”

His approach to Blackadder has centred on the character’s sardonic humour and the original script, rather than attempting an exact impersonation.

“You have to think of it like Hamlet – there have been numerous interpretations of that lead character over the years, from Sir Laurence Olivier to David Tennant,” Mr Thomas said.

“I don’t have the same twang Rowan Atkinson has in his voice, but you can give the same sardonic and sarcastic inflections.

“The director also gives suggestions on line delivery and, because it’s a stage production, the performance needs to be bigger when there’s a theatre full of people.”

Blackadder plays at 7.30pm October 16 and 17 with a 2pm matinee October 18. Tickets are $30 adults, $27 concession and $25 children – book at trybooking.com/DOUZL.

Harbour Theatre performs at Camelot, 16 Lochee Street, Mosman Park.