Edward Alderton Theatre

WORLD PREMIERE
Seconds Out!
by Terry Williams

Directed by Terry Williams

14-23 October 2010 (9 performances)

certificate of merit for best male actor: michael martin

kentish times award for technical achievement

This is the story of Freddie Mills, light heavyweight champion of the world. Son of a rag-and-bone man, he started his working life as a milk boy aged 14 and joined the fairground as a booth boxer, then became a war hero in the RAF. The highs, the lows, the loves, the helter-skelter lifestyle of Freddie Mills — fighter. The good years from 1938 to 1948...

Cast
Freddie Mills	Paul Standell
Christine Broadribb	Nicola Foxfield
Ted Broadribb	Brian John
Edna	Naomi Todd
Favours	Michael Martin
Ma Basham	Claire Kingshott
Razors	Clive Madel
Sailor Smith, Circus Giant	William Thomson
Sticky	John Penn
Edna's Mother, Mrs Parfit	Eileen Warner
Edna's Father, Milk Inspector, Barker	David Hampton
Policeman, Wing Commander, Ref	Horry Stapleton
Moll	Sue Masterman
Lilly	Gill Peters
Chorus	Ella Banks, Daisy Bell, Marley Clark, Dorothy Holmans, Sue Masterman, Gill Peters

Crew
Assistant Director	Kim Willcox
Musical Director	Ed Hooson
Assistant Musical Director	Michael Martin
Drummer	Steve Dowell
Choreographer	Paul Street
Musical Arrangers	Michael Martin, Ed Hooson, Stuart Darling
Vocal Coach	Glenn Willcox
Second Pianist	Anne Lee
Stage Manager	Stephanie David
Assistant Stage Manager	Yvonne Golding
Set Design	Terry Williams, Mark Campbell
Set Construction	John Vinnels, Ron Andrews
Lighting Rig	Jerry McKeon, Christine McKeon, Michael Smith, Mick Taylor
Lighting Operation	Mick Taylor
Sound Design & Operation	Mark Campbell
PowerPoint Design & Operation	Mark Campbell

Thanks to Mark Fraser and William Thomson for their technical support.

Preview

Action man writes knockout musical about
boxing champ

When Terry Williams decided a decade ago to write a musical about one of his childhood heroes, he certainly had all the bases covered. A former army Physical Training instructor, an acrobat, singer and dancer in West End musicals for twelve years, a retailer and one-time gym owner, not to mention a county champion boxer, there could be no better man to capture the life of Freddie Mills, 1948 Light Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Williams, who hails from Downe, is currently directing rehearsals of his musical Seconds Out!, a new musical coming to Bexley's Edward Alderton Theatre this October. The all-singing, all-dancing show tells of the highs and lows experienced by Mills, an indefatigable underdog legend who led a chequered life to say the least. He won his first bout aged 16 and soon worked as a booth boxer, getting paid cash to knock out strangers at fairgrounds. He later served in the RAF and afterwards suffered a series of reckless poundings in a boxing career with only one short-term goal driving it — to take the world light-heavyweight title at all costs. Mills spent his later years living in Denmark Hill, unable to continue boxing having taken such heavy beatings from larger opponents in his quest for success.

"His whole life was very romantic," enthuses Williams, 75. "He was the son of a rag-and-bone merchant and was almost put into prison for stealing some rollerskates. The judge said he had to go to a youth centre which was where he learnt to box. It's a tale of ups and downs all of the way — a brilliant story."

Admittedly, Mills' life became less romantic and more steeped in intrigue when he retired, bought a club in Soho, fell in with the Krays and wound up shot dead in his own car (verdict: suicide). But Seconds Out! only follows the boxer on his happier journey to world champion.

Williams himself was a county champion boxer in his youth and his national service must have made him a force to be reckoned with. Since his career in musicals, Williams kept his fingers in a few pies, helping run his ex-wife's boutique store Gemma Deroma in Forest Hill, then later opening Clown Alley circus skills school in Bromley in 1985, then Bickley Healthy Lido in 1987 — sold to Homes Place ten years ago.

Seconds Out! will be Williams' first musical, and having performed in classics such as My Fair Lady in Drury Lane and Barnum at the London Palladium, he knows all about its fickle fortune. He says, "I think we're onto something here, but putting on a musical isn't exactly a recipe for success. I was in on with Barbara Windsor and Ronnie Corbett, Clay — it cost millions and only lasted two weeks.

Songs in Seconds Out! include If I Make It Through — Mills' promise to Christine if he survives the war — and a number sung by Christine as she witnesses the horrors of the Blitz — It Ain't Fair. Both are stirring songs of optimism in the face of adversity, a brave face that captures the wartime zeitgeist for Williams. He says, "It's an upbeat, happy story told against the background of war. But you could say that one is an analogy of the other. When Freddie heads off to a bout, his mother warns him to be careful because it'll be a dirty fight. He replies, 'I've been fighting all my life. I have to do it.'

"He reflects a time when it was much easier to differentiate good from bad — the Nazis wanted to rule the world and stopping them was clearly the right thing. Now with wars like Iraq and Afghanistan people say we shouldn't be there at all. Things were black and white back then and you just had to struggle against the odds."

Seconds Out! will be performed at the Edward Alderton Theatre from October 14 to 23. Tickets: 020 8301 5584.

Jules Cooper

Kentish Times | 23 September 2010

Review

Brave musical proves itself no lightweight

The Edward Alderton Theatre is never afraid of taking risks and on the whole Seconds Out!, written and directed by Kentish musician Terry Williams, is one that has been worth taking.

The musical, written by Downe resident Terry Williams, 75, and performed at the Bexleyheath venue, centres on the life of world champion boxer Freddie Mills between 1939 and 1948. Born the son of a rag-and-bone man, he started life as a milk boy before joining the fairground in Ma Basham's boxing booth. After enlisting, he becomes an RAF hero balancing fights in the ring with air raids over Germany. After 'demob' he returns to boxing to become Light Heavyweight Champion of the World. Williams, an RAF veteran who scooped a county champion boxer title in his youth and spent years working as an acrobat in West End shows, said the boxer's romantic life of highs and lows reflected "a time when it was much easier to differentiate good from bad".

There is plenty to enjoy in this pared-back production: catchy tunes, well-crafted lyrics and a plausible story depicting Freddie's highs and lows. Casting a musical brings its own challenges but Williams successfully knocked his lead roles into shape. There were a few throaty performances on the evening I attended but nonetheless everyone sang with enthusiasm.

Paul Standell as Mills pulls off the necessary swagger to convey at the same time a down-to-earth honesty and vulnerability, meaning each fight is won on merit rather than deviousness. Favours (Michael Martin) is an admirable foil who brings a comic chirpiness to the drama and delivers one of the best songs, Call Up Papers, with total clarity. Likewise Clive Madel with his Rotten and Evil number.

Nicola Foxfield as Freddie's girlfriend and daughter of his manager, Christine Broadribb, is well cast and sings Damn the Man and Freddie with passion and credibility. Ted Broadribb (Brian John) and Ma Basham (Claire Kingshott) are equally well played. Ma Basham's solo, Another Great War, was particularly moving, a song questioning the futility of it all.

The minor roles are played well too, many doubling up or even tripling up. Having said that, some of the songs seemed a little too long and a snip here or there would not go amiss. The movement on stage seemed clumsy at times: Favours' nifty footwork tended to show up the slightly awkward steps of others. However, music co-arranger Ed Hooson, tucked in the corner of the stage on the piano, deserves special mention: he played with verve and sensitivity, always keeping performers within his sights.

The integration of radio broadcasts and projection of contemporary stills of blitzed London, 1940s interiors and the Cafe de Paris all added to this innovative choice of production. Having recently won three awards from Bexley Council's Arts Panel, the rest of the season should be something to look forward to.

Steve Spencer

Kentish Times | 28 October 2010

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