Chapter 2: The Mighty Atom makes his debut

The Theatre Royal, Bilston, in the midlands, was the scene of my first ever professional engagement in 1942. What a thrill for a 14-yearold boy with grown-up ambitions. In fact, it was a hellhole, which was not uncommon after the war broke out. The Great Marzo topped the bill. how to describe him? I know: ‘A hopeless magician.’ That’s what I thought, at least. Then there was me, way down the list, propping up the other acts with my one and only appearance as ‘Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom.’ This was a pageboy carrying luggage from the railway station to the hotel who stops off to see what’s inside and proceeds to pull out a variety of instruments and a tap mat, all of which spark a series of song-and-dance numbers. It was just the execution that left a lot to be desired.