Littlehampton GP Tim Kimber takes to stage in Madnesss musical in Worthing

Littlehampton GP Tim Kimber is being transported right back to his student days with his latest stage role – the dad in the Madnesss musical Our House.
Tim KimberTim Kimber
Tim Kimber

The piece will be staged by Worthing Musical Theatre Company from Thursday, March 19 to Saturday March 21 at Worthing’s Pavilion Theatre.

“40 years ago I was a second-year medical student,” Tim recalls.

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“It was the era of ska music. In the summer of 1979 Madness and the Specials had released their first albums, and I bought both of them the moment they were released.

“I remember that summer so well.

“I had memories of ska from the early 70s. I had an older sister that had a boyfriend who was into that music, but then it all came in, Madness, The Specials, The Selecter, The Beat. They call came along and reinvigorated it.

“I was at university in Manchester and the punk scene was very big, but the punk scene was on its way out and all these bands came in like a breath of fresh air.

“Madness were great. They went on to develop their own unique sound.

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“They had their roots in ska, but I would say they also had their roots in music hall. Their songs always tells a story and that’s why they lend themselves so well to this show.”

With a book by Tim Firth, the musical features a collection of hits including House of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Driving in my Car, It Must Be Love and Our House itself.

The piece follows the story of London lad Joe Casey.

On the night of his 16th birthday, an over-excited Joe takes Sarah, the girl of his dreams, out for a romantic evening.

On a whim, he breaks into a new building development to show her the view over London.

When the police arrive, Joe faces a tough decision.

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And in a Sliding Doors moment, we then get the tales of good Joe and bad Joe…

“It also reminds me of Blood Brothers in a way,” says Tim, “the two brothers separating. But in this we see the main character go down two separate paths.

“Tim Firth has done a great job with the story of using the songs, sometimes segueing them together.

“I am playing the dead dad. You are introduced to the dad at the beginning of the piece in a flashback and then you realise that he has actually died.

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“You seem him alive, but you realise within two or three minutes that he is dead… and the dad becomes a kind of narrator.

“Joe can’t see him or hear him, but he is trying to give Joe advice.

“He is a rough diamond, and Eastender, from Camden.

“He is a bit of a Cockney geezer, and he was killed in a knife fight as a young man. And the character of Joe is a reflection of him.

“The good bits of Joe are the good bits of his dad, but when his dad sees the bad Joe going down the wrong path that he himself took, he is desperate to stop him.

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“Dad speaks from experience when he sees Joe taking that wrong path…

“This is my second show with WMTC. I did Fagin with them a couple of years ago, and I saw this and it was a part that I really wanted to play. It’s a challenge.

“It is the sort of character that you can really get your teeth into, and we have got a really good director with Sandra (Tomlinson) who is very experienced and has got a fantastic reputation.

“She has brought real polish to the direction and to the detail of the show. Great respect to her.

“It has been great.”

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Tim, who is now semi-retired, job-sharing with his daughter, celebrates his 60th birthday the week before the show.

And semi-retirement is increasing his stage opportunities.

He is currently rehearsing another show besides, Chicago for BROS coming up in Bognor Regis in May.

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