Masque Theatre

As a member of Masque Youth Theatre, I was always aware of there being an adult theatre company attached to it, but from my perspective, it was ancillary to what we were up to. Masque Theatre came crashing in when I got the role of Romeo in their summer show of Romeo and Juliet when I was sixteen. A few of my MYT friends were in the production and having just finished my GCSEs, I had no cares or responsibilities. It was a fucking good summer. Whilst volunteering for MYT after university I got involved in various Masque Theatre productions, especially the summer Shakespeares in the open air.

I’ve always felt a particular joy about performing in the summer shows in the park. You have to contend with the elements, the bloody birds in the aviary close by, traffic, the cricket, the courtyard and with the text itself. Shakespeare is tricksy at the best of times and some of the language is confusing, but most of the time it has a beat, a cadence to remember your lines by. Also usually the cast is quite large and it attracts new members, so there’s lots of people to get to know and go down the pub with. I also enjoy getting stuck into having to act the meaning of the text. It can be baffling to the audience, so I feel a certain amount of responsibility to ensure those watching understand what the fuck we’re saying. Or I look like a bell-end waving my arms around saying fancy words. Either or.

Above is a picture of my favourite costume I’ve ever worn. Playing Caesar was a joy. A complicated baddie which is always fun. And my Dad was in the show and we got to interact on stage which was cool. And my best friend played Cleopatra. We had a delicious scene at the end where we crossed verbal swords. It was a good show, and well received. I remember doing a rehearsal in the museum on a Sunday afternoon. We were in the courtyard rehearsing whilst the museum is open to the public. I was wandering around the museum on a break, wearing the armour, and a mother and young son approached me asking what I was up to. I replied, explaining the rehearsal and the upcoming show and rather politely she asked if her son could have a picture with me. Absofuckinglutely. For two minutes I felt like a celebrity and the lad loved it and we had a quick chat about acting and whatnot.

Now I haven’t been directly involved in a Masque production for about four years due to pandemics and life choices. I’ve been out of town, but I’m excited to be able to let you know I’m playing Richmond in their latest Shakespeare summer show at Abington Park Museum – Richard III. It’s shaping up to be a lively show. More on the specifics of that next week.