.png)
My first experience with this sort of theatrical presentation was seeing Hal Holbrook’s one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight, but I first encountered the term “Living Biography” when I saw Micheál Mac Liammóir’s play entitled The Importance of Being Oscar at the Savoy. Later, I attended a similar presentation at The Duke of York’s theatre. This play was called The Mystery of Charles Dickens and was written by Peter Ackroyd and played by the brilliant Simon Callow. In each case, the stage setting was simple but elegant, and the one-man presentation was utterly electrifying. It is a performance style suited to stretching an actor.
The performer is in costume, but he plays many roles in the course of the presentation. At times, he is the author; at other times, he is various characters from the author’s works; and at still other times, he plays a character very much like himself in order to relate details of the author’s life and history as might a university professor or literary biographer.
It is an exciting and extraordinary theatrical event that not only entertains but also informs. The audience is treated to a grab-bag of ‘greatest hits’ from the author’s work whilst also learning little-known facts and often scandalous backgrounds of those famous authors. It is, therefore, very much like watching a biography come to life on the stage: Living Biography!
To this fascinating art form (I am an unapologetic fanboy), I add a touch of magic. The magical element of my performances either brings ghosts into the room with us (M.R. James: the Chance of a Ghost), explores the superstitions of early modern England (Shakespeare: This Rough Magic) or recreates the performances of the most famous Victorian novelist, who was also an enthusiastic amateur magician (Charles Dickens: Conjurer).
Each performance is in some ways a ‘magic show,’ but my hope is to lose my audiences in the extraordinary life of literature and literary figures to the extent that the magic becomes an exciting addition to the journey rather than the goal. I like to think of this form of Living Biography as an performance banquet with magic as the seasoning.