A terminally ill Coventry dad faces a traumatic race against time to see his older brother’s stage musical performed in the city.
Ian Hopkins is battling to stay alive long enough to watch Nelly – A Folk Musical when it arrives to St Mary’s Guildhall for two performances in September.
The 56-year-old underwent a 12-hour operation in September last year after being diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus three months earlier.
The tumour was removed, but in November Ian was given the earth-shattering news the cancer had moved to his lymph nodes and was highly likely to spread further.
One of the first people in the world ever to be diagnosed with Aase Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterized by anaemia and skeletal deformities that he was born with, Ian was unable to pursue chemotherapy as a course of treatment and told he would never beat the cancer.
To maintain a quality of life of some kind, doctors decided to make him transfusion dependent. As a result, the step-dad of three has to undergo blood transfusions at University Hospital Coventry every five weeks.
“I can’t change the diagnosis, but I can live whatever life I have left to the full,” said Ian, from Tollbar End.
“I will enjoy every day until my last. It would be shameful if I was to give up because I’m a very positive type of person.”
Chief among Ian’s aims is to live to see his playwright brother Graham’s latest musical, which tells the enchanting story of folk heroine Nell Gwynne. Nell reached prominence in Restoration England as a trailblazing actress and comedian and long-time mistress of King Charles II.
Emily Jane Brooks, who rose to Britain’s Got Talent fame as a member of The D-Day Darlings, will play the role of Nell, as the Coventry singer did when the musical first toured two years ago. Rob Peach will take on the male parts.
“I didn’t see the play two years ago because I was too poorly with my anaemia,” Ian said. “That’s why I’m even more determined to see it this time.”
Coventry-born Graham says his musical ode to Nell, often referred to as Nelly, mirrors in part the struggle his younger brother faces on a daily basis.
“Like Nell, Ian is a truly inspirational figure,” Graham said. “And both of their stories have the power to captivate and uplift.
“We all go through ups and downs in life. There’s always a mix of emotions and that’s followed through in the play.
“It’s nice to see people in the audience cry because there’s some really sad parts, but there’s also some slapstick moments. It’s a bit of an imitation of life.”
Graham added: “I’ve tried to tell Nell’s story in a very chronological way. There are definite parallels between the 17th Century and now.
“Two years on from the first tour, we’ve even got a King Charles which is a really nice tie in and helps to make the story resonate with the events of today.”
Ian hopes his buoyant approach will empower others in much the same way as King Charles III has attempted to with his own cancer battle.
“If I can inspire just one person who is fighting cancer, and encourage them to be positive not pessimistic, that would be amazing,” he said.
“Cancer is not all doom and gloom and that’s what I’m hoping to show.”
The tour starts at Hereford Cathedral on September 6 and takes in a matinee and evening performance at St Mary’s Guildhall the following day.
Despite all they have been through, and continue to grapple with, Ian and Graham try to retain a lighter outlook on life, however dark that may be.
“Graham and I both have a brilliant, if dark, sense of humour,” added Ian, who loved playing with toy soldiers as a boy. “And that makes life, especially mine at the moment, so much easier to cope with.
“I don’t do sadness or miserableness with my own situation. I find it's positivity and a desire to remain upbeat that’s kept me alive!
“At two months old, specialists told my mum that if I survived for six months I would be lucky. I’m 56 now so I must be a very lucky person!
“Yes, the cancer will kill me in the end, but I am determined to fight it off for as long as possible hence why I am so determined to survive until Graham’s musical. I will turn up in a wheelchair or a hospital bed with tubes if needs be.”
Ian’s wife Dawn, a former nurse, and his three grown-up step-children are just as philosophical and optimistic.
“Dawn is the same as me, very upbeat,” Ian added. “Because she used to deal with illness all the time she’s very good with it and matter of fact. She sees it in a medical rather than emotional way.
“She understands what I’ve got and how best to manage it. The children are all adults now. They’re upset for me, but still very positive. They’re fighting with me.
“They don’t want to show they’re downhearted because they don’t want that to affect me. I’m definitely not alone.”
To book tickets for the show, visit the St Mary’s Guildhall website at www.stmarysguildhall.co.uk/