If your uncle is fabled Shakespearean actor and screen star Richard Burton, you might try to milk it, but for Guy Masterson his uncle is truly his inspiration.
"In 1981, I had the extraordinary experience of driving my uncle Richard to Switzerland [from London] in a Mini Cooper. During that time, we became very close. During our many conversations he introduced me to the sonnets of Shakespeare and the poetry of Dylan Thomas. More specifically, Under Milk Wood. My uncle’s premature death at 59 was devastating and the reason I became an actor. While he was alive, he made it clear that he did not want me to become an actor! After he died, his performances and his integrity, plus his love for me, have remained a source of inspiration to me. My choosing to do Under Milk Wood as a solo performance was partially an experiment in physical performance but also, very much a tribute to him."
Richard Burton performed in the first radio broadcast of Under Milk Wood in 1958.
In a play for voices, his was the principal voice along with 26 others portraying the hopes and dreams of the inhabitants of a small Welsh village.
Masterson takes that performance one giant step further, by playing all 69 inhabitants of Llaregubb.
He describes the play as "a day in the life of a sleepy fictional Welsh fishing village and the dreams and aspirations of its inhabitants".
"In itself it sounds mundane, but the words are so brilliant and the characters so charming it sucks you in. Before long, you are immersed in their lives, their loves, their humour and their sadnesses.
"I think four paying customers came to my first public performance of Under Milk Wood. The other attendees were my girlfriend and her mother, the St John ambulance man, a blind man and his dog. I got a standing ovation and I realised that the show worked. I contacted the Traverse in Edinburgh and asked them if they wanted a one-man version of Under Milk Wood. They were intrigued and we agreed that this would be my official world premiere, to which critics would be invited. Thankfully, the show was reviewed very well and I can say that that night changed my life. I was invited back for the Edinburgh Festival in 1994 and, because of the reviews I’d received at the Traverse, the entire run sold out before I even started. After the festival, the show started to tour around the world."
Two thousand performances later and the play is now in Masterson’s blood.
"I do love Under Milk Wood very much and it is now very much a part of my DNA. I don’t need to psych myself up to do it; the moment I hear the overture, I am in the groove. I love performing it and the effect it has on an audience. Their enchantment is the biggest reward I could get as a performer.
"I love words. I always did, but my uncle showed me their limitless magic. Like music, their combinations are infinite. Dylan Thomas, perhaps more than anyone since Shakespeare, was able to take the language to another dimension. Under Milk Wood is the epitome of that."
And it is a character from Shakespeare that inspires the second play, Shylock, that Masterson will perform at the festival, a performance that won him Best Solo Performance at the Edinburgh Festival in 2011 and is one of the most globally successful solo shows of the past decade.
Masterson says the play questions whether Shylock is a villain or a victim.
"Shylock gets inside Shakespeare’s most controversial character, dispels the myths and explains Shylock’s conundrum and explains his role in The Merchant of Venice. It very cleverly hands the task to the only other Jewish man in Shakespeare’s canon, Tubal, Shylock’s only friend and the only one who can contextualise Shylock’s actions from an insider’s perspective, sometimes humorously, sometimes movingly.
"Shylock leaves us with a much clearer picture of the man within the historical context. It suggests that, rather than painting an anti-Semitic caricature — typical of the way in which Jews were depicted at the time — Shakespeare actually penned a very subtle anti-racist piece which would not have been lost on the intelligentsia. In this way, Shylock doesn’t just represent the Jewish diaspora, he represents all downtrodden, vilified minorities in any society. It is very powerful."
Masterson’s two solo performances at the festival will be rare opportunities to experience world-class theatre. And Richard Burton’s nephew is looking forward to his new experience: a visit to Dunedin.
"I love New Zealand. This will be my fourth trip but this will indeed be the furthest south I have come and I look forward to it hugely. Several pals have come from Dunedin — the Edinburgh of the South — and I am keen to see the likenesses. I also want to go to the botanic garden — which I do in every city that has one — maybe see an albatross, maybe a yellow-eyed penguin?"
