Forbes Masson
Encyclopedia
Forbes Masson is a Scottish actor and writer. He is best known for his classical theatre roles and comedy partnership with Alan Cumming
. Masson and Cumming wrote The High Life
, a Scottish situation comedy where they played the lead characters, Steve McCracken and Sebastian Flight, who were heavily based on Victor and Barry
, their famous Scottish comedy alter-egos.
. He played Stan Laurel
in the episode Meltdown of the sitcom, Red Dwarf
; Eck in the 1992 comedy series, My Dead Dad; Rodney Morris in EastEnders
(2000); Tam Flood in "Hamish Macbeth" (1996) as well as various roles in Is It Bill Bailey?
(1998) He also played rock band manager Art Stilton in Channel 4
cult comedy "The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star
" (1998).
Endgame (Clov), The Trick is to Keep Breathing (Dr Green), Dumbstruck (Herman Katz), The Real Wurld (Claude), Cinzano (Pasha), Tron Theatre Glasgow
Laurel and Hardy (Stan Laurel) Assembly Edinburgh/Wellington Festival NZ
The Life of Stuff (Fraser): Donmar Warehouse, London
Loose Ends (Callum), Wormwood (Artemis) Traverse Theatre Edinburgh
He also appeared as The Fool to Pete Postlethwaite
's King Lear
, directed by Rupert Goold at The Everyman Theatre in Liverpool Autumn 2008 and the Young Vic in early 2009 with Headlong Theatre Co.
in 2001.
At the Tron Theatre, Glasgow from 2001-2005 his alternative Christmas Pantomimes including "Aladdie" and "Weans in the Wood" were hugely successful. It was at the Tron Theatre that he first worked with Michael Boyd
.
He has also worked with Gordon Dougall's Sounds of Progress music theatre company (renamed Limelight in 2010) promoting disability inclusivity in the Arts.
He is currently writing script and songs for his new comedy musical psychopanto, "Crackers" which will premiere at The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in December 2011, directed by Michael Fentiman.
, Rumour in Henry IV, Part Two, Chorus in "Henry V"and King Edward IV in "Henry VI" and "Richard III". In 2009 he played Samson in Boyd's production of "The Grain Store". He played Romeo opposite Kathryn Hunter's Juliet in Ben Power's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet called "Tender Thing". He played Merlin in Greg Doran's production of Mike Poulton's "Morte d'Arthur". He played Gena in "Ahasverus" directed by Michael Fentiman, at the Hampstead Theatre. Most recently he appeared as Jacques in Boyd's "As You Like It" and Friar Lawrence in Rupert Goold's production of "Romeo and Juliet". Both plays came to the Roundhouse in Camden in late 2010. They played Park Avenue Armory in New York in summer 2011.
in the situation comedy, The High Life. Masson and Cumming met at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1982 where they formed a cult Kelvinside musical double act "Victor and Barry
", which they performed on the alternative comedy circuit.http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=Culture%20On%20Stage&vxClipId=1380_SMG314&vxBitrate=300 They were nominated for a Perrier Award in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1988, played the Donmar Warehouse and toured Australia in 1989, playing the Sydney Opera House
. The characters were killed off onstage at the London Palladium in the early 1990s.
Masson is an Artistic Associate of The National Theatre of Scotland.
He is married with two children and lives in North London.
http://sianed.co.uk/twelfth-night
Forbes recorded a selection of songs he sang whilst with the RSC and these can be found on
John Woolf and Friends http://www.rsc.org.uk/shop/item/62105/
Forbes reads a selection of Robert Burns poetry http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/196812.htm
Victor and Barry sing their eighties hit, Kelvinside Men http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t04qzYLzoc
The High Life opening titles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tSDb-t3cFU
Guardian review of "Twelfth Night" http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2005/dec/14/theatre1
Daily Telegraph review of "As You Like It" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/8267640/As-You-Like-It-RSC-Roundhouse-review.html
Guardian review of "Mince" http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2001/may/08/theatre.artsfeatures
Image of Forbes as Feste in "Twelfth Night" http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-15647501/forbes-masson-in-twelfth-night
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
. Masson and Cumming wrote The High Life
The High Life (TV series)
The High Life was a Scottish situation comedy written by and starring Forbes Masson as Steve McCracken and Alan Cumming as Sebastian Flight. Cumming and Masson met at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and united after several solo projects, to create the theatrical BBC sitcom, The High...
, a Scottish situation comedy where they played the lead characters, Steve McCracken and Sebastian Flight, who were heavily based on Victor and Barry
Victor and Barry
Victor Ignatius MacIlvaney and Barry Primrose McLeish were the creations of Forbes Masson and Alan Cumming.Victor and Barry are the slightly camp, Scottish founder members of the Kelvinside Young People’s Amateur Dramatic Art Society, of which they would share their reminiscences with audiences far...
, their famous Scottish comedy alter-egos.
Television
Masson’s first television appearances were in the late 80s, including an episode of TaggartTaggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
. He played Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel
Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
in the episode Meltdown of the sitcom, Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
; Eck in the 1992 comedy series, My Dead Dad; Rodney Morris in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
(2000); Tam Flood in "Hamish Macbeth" (1996) as well as various roles in Is It Bill Bailey?
Is It Bill Bailey?
Is It Bill Bailey? was a stand up / sketch comedy series written by and starring Bill Bailey. One series of six episodes was produced and aired on BBC Two in 1998, and it has never been recommissioned or released on DVD...
(1998) He also played rock band manager Art Stilton in Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
cult comedy "The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star
The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star
The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star was a successful British comedy series, which aired on Channel 4 in 1998.It was a six-part satirical take on the music industry, written by BAFTA award-winner Bryan Elsley...
" (1998).
Theatre
The Breathing House (Gilbert), Art (Yvan), STIFF (George Mathieson), Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick): Royal Lyceum Theatre EdinburghEndgame (Clov), The Trick is to Keep Breathing (Dr Green), Dumbstruck (Herman Katz), The Real Wurld (Claude), Cinzano (Pasha), Tron Theatre Glasgow
Laurel and Hardy (Stan Laurel) Assembly Edinburgh/Wellington Festival NZ
The Life of Stuff (Fraser): Donmar Warehouse, London
Loose Ends (Callum), Wormwood (Artemis) Traverse Theatre Edinburgh
He also appeared as The Fool to Pete Postlethwaite
Pete Postlethwaite
Peter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...
's King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
, directed by Rupert Goold at The Everyman Theatre in Liverpool Autumn 2008 and the Young Vic in early 2009 with Headlong Theatre Co.
Writing
Masson has written and composed a series of critically acclaimed Scottish musicals; "Stiff", "Mince" and "Pants". He directed the semi- autobiographical "Mince" with The Dundee Rep Theatre Ensemble and it was nominated for best musical in The Barclays TMA AwardsTMA Awards
The TMA Awards, established in 1991, are presented annually by the Theatrical Management Association in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in United Kingdom theatres...
in 2001.
At the Tron Theatre, Glasgow from 2001-2005 his alternative Christmas Pantomimes including "Aladdie" and "Weans in the Wood" were hugely successful. It was at the Tron Theatre that he first worked with Michael Boyd
Michael Boyd
Michael Boyd is a British theatre director, and current artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has regularly collaborated with stage designer Tom Piper since they first worked together on a pantomime for the Tron Theatre in Glasgow.-Early years:Boyd was born in Belfast, Northern...
.
He has also worked with Gordon Dougall's Sounds of Progress music theatre company (renamed Limelight in 2010) promoting disability inclusivity in the Arts.
He is currently writing script and songs for his new comedy musical psychopanto, "Crackers" which will premiere at The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in December 2011, directed by Michael Fentiman.
RSC
Masson was in The Royal Shakespeare Company acting ensemble from 2003 to 2011. His roles included Horatio to Toby Stephens' "Hamlet" in 2004, and Feste in "Twelfth Night" in 2005. Both productions were directed by RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd. He also played Porter in Dominic Cooke's "Macbeth" and Dromio of Ephesus in Nancy Meckler's "Comedy of Errors". He played Judas in "Pilate Project" He performed in Boyd's critically acclaimed Histories cycle from 2006-2008 in Stratford-Upon-Avon and The Roundhouse, Camden. His roles in the cycle included Bagot in Richard IIRichard II (play)
King Richard the Second is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to be written in approximately 1595. It is based on the life of King Richard II of England and is the first part of a tetralogy, referred to by some scholars as the Henriad, followed by three plays concerning Richard's...
, Rumour in Henry IV, Part Two, Chorus in "Henry V"and King Edward IV in "Henry VI" and "Richard III". In 2009 he played Samson in Boyd's production of "The Grain Store". He played Romeo opposite Kathryn Hunter's Juliet in Ben Power's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet called "Tender Thing". He played Merlin in Greg Doran's production of Mike Poulton's "Morte d'Arthur". He played Gena in "Ahasverus" directed by Michael Fentiman, at the Hampstead Theatre. Most recently he appeared as Jacques in Boyd's "As You Like It" and Friar Lawrence in Rupert Goold's production of "Romeo and Juliet". Both plays came to the Roundhouse in Camden in late 2010. They played Park Avenue Armory in New York in summer 2011.
Partnership with Alan Cumming
He co-wrote and performed with Alan CummingAlan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
in the situation comedy, The High Life. Masson and Cumming met at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1982 where they formed a cult Kelvinside musical double act "Victor and Barry
Victor and Barry
Victor Ignatius MacIlvaney and Barry Primrose McLeish were the creations of Forbes Masson and Alan Cumming.Victor and Barry are the slightly camp, Scottish founder members of the Kelvinside Young People’s Amateur Dramatic Art Society, of which they would share their reminiscences with audiences far...
", which they performed on the alternative comedy circuit.http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=Culture%20On%20Stage&vxClipId=1380_SMG314&vxBitrate=300 They were nominated for a Perrier Award in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1988, played the Donmar Warehouse and toured Australia in 1989, playing the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
. The characters were killed off onstage at the London Palladium in the early 1990s.
Masson is an Artistic Associate of The National Theatre of Scotland.
He is married with two children and lives in North London.
Recording
The soundtrack to the RSC's 2005 production of "Twelfth Night" with Sianed Joneshttp://sianed.co.uk/twelfth-night
Forbes recorded a selection of songs he sang whilst with the RSC and these can be found on
John Woolf and Friends http://www.rsc.org.uk/shop/item/62105/
Forbes reads a selection of Robert Burns poetry http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/196812.htm
External links
Forbes as Jaques in "As You Like It" RSC trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iAozWpraJ4Victor and Barry sing their eighties hit, Kelvinside Men http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t04qzYLzoc
The High Life opening titles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tSDb-t3cFU
Guardian review of "Twelfth Night" http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2005/dec/14/theatre1
Daily Telegraph review of "As You Like It" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/8267640/As-You-Like-It-RSC-Roundhouse-review.html
Guardian review of "Mince" http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2001/may/08/theatre.artsfeatures
Image of Forbes as Feste in "Twelfth Night" http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/42-15647501/forbes-masson-in-twelfth-night