Details

A musical based on the life and death of Felix Powell, composer of the famous marching song. Felix and his brother George were stars of the music hall, performing alongside Charlie Chaplin. The First World War demanded marching songs, and Pack Up Your Troubles, rescued from a rejects pile and re-scored for a marching song competition, was the winner and subsequent world favourite. Felix became famous and joined the British Army as a private; his brother George who wrote the words, became a pacifist, while Felix s military unit played countless British and Empire soldiers 'over the top to their deaths, something which preyed on Felix s mind in later years. Felix and George had married two sisters. George s wife Leila was easygoing. Felix s wife Mabel, previously a feted star of cowboy cross-dressing music hall numbers, later became jealous at Felix s closeness to Joan Bellamy, an actress who Felix was writing a musical for, as the Second World War approached. When the Luftewaffe bombed the London theatre on their opening night, Felix secretly embezzled money, to keep the musical going. When Joan refused to tour the show, Felix was found shot through the heart from his own rifle, dressed in the Dad s Army uniform of the Peacehaven Home Guard.

Creatives/Company

Author: Snoo Wilson
Music: Nicolas Bloomfield
Company: Leyton Sixth Form College London