Newly-retired Littlehampton GP takes to the Worthing stage in My Fair Lady

Worthing Musical Theatre Company offer their first production since before the pandemic when they take to the stage with My Fair Lady at Worthing’s Pavilion Theatre from Thursday to Saturday, September 22-24.

It’s certainly a new era for Tim: “I was 35 years in the same practice and I spent quite a lot of time latterly reflecting on that, though in recent years I've been job sharing with my daughter.

"The job share worked in blocks so I did three or four weeks and then had a few weeks off so I had got used to having blocks of time off but I always knew that in several weeks I would be going back to work.

"But obviously this time it's different which is going to take a bit of getting used to.

“People ask if I feel sad and I don't feel sad but it certainly feels strange. A fellow GP said to me that being a GP, your job defines you in many ways and when you're retired that has gone... So yes it is a little bit strange at the moment.

“As a doctor I can remember when people said they were going to retire soon that I felt a little bit worried if they said they didn't have lots of plans.

"I do think it's important going into retirement to know a little bit about what you want to do and I have got lots of plans for travelling in the next few months.”

Tim’s view is that he would be surprised if Covid came back very strongly now: “I think everybody has got used to the fact that the virus has done what a lot of wise scientists always said that it would and that it has weakened itself.

"I think I'd be very surprised if we were looking at more lockdowns and big restrictions again.”

In the meantime there’s the little matter of My Fair Lady: “It's a show that I've always wanted to do and it's one of the few big shows that I've never ever done.

"Luckily the part of Henry Higgins is really something that I can get my teeth into.

"You can argue that Higgins is all rather misogynist but I don't think it is just that. He's very sure of himself and he is very sure that he is right but it is not just with women.

"He's like that with men as well really.

"Actually he is quite dismissive of everyone. It's just his character.

“But we have got a little twist in the show.

"Everyone that knows the film will know how it ends but we are taking a slightly different view of that. In the usual version of the show Higgins gets a bit of redemption in the end, but we have extended that.

"And I have tried to put more of that into the character the way I am doing it.”

It great to get back to business for Worthing Musical Theatre Company: “We were going to do Our House in March 2020 on the very day that Boris Johnson said don't go to the theatre.

"It was not mandated at that point but suddenly it was like everything was just switched off and that was the last show that the company did so it’s great to be back especially as this is our 50th anniversary.”