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Guy Masterson BIOGRAPHY
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Between 1985-89 he performed in over twenty plays in Los Angeles including The Caretaker (Mick), City Gents, The Elephant Man (Ross), Othello (Iago), Hamlet (Title), The Taming Of The Shrew (Petruchio), Henry V (Title), and Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio). He (regrettably) 'anglicised' his name to "Masterson" in 1986. In 1989 he returned to the UK to attend LAMDA where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Theatre. In 1991 he formed "Boy's Own Productions" (now Guy Masterson Productions) to present Peter Flannery's The Boy's Own Story on tour throughout the UK until 1993. In late 1992 he appeared in Cyrano De Bergerac (Bellerose/Ligniere) with Robert Lindsay at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, West End which ran for 9 months. From late 1993 until the present, he produced and performed in solo versions of Under Milk Wood, Animal Farm, A Soldier's Song and Fern Hill & Other Dylan Thomas, all of which toured extensively on the UK and international circuits. The latter (Fern Hill) premiered at Edinburgh 2001 and garnered the coveted Stage Award for Best Actor. Soon afterwards, he took the part of the Narrator in Theatr Clwyd's full cast production of Under Milk Wood, directed by Terry Hands, for their Centenary Celebration season. In 2002 he produced and performed in an eight month 100+ performance tour of Oleanna with Beth Firtzgerald which opened at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh while presenting ten additional productions and garnered multiple awards and nominations. In 2003, he collaborated with composer (and Rolling Stones collaborator) Matt Clifford to add music & soundscape to his acclaimed production of Under Milk Wood for the Edinburgh Festival and then embarked on a major national tour to mark the 50th Anniversary of Dylan Thomas' death. His production of 12 Angry Men also became the biggest grossing drama of all time at the Edinburgh Festival 2003 and, in recognition of this and of his outstanding contribution to that festival over 10 years, he was awarded the Jack Tinker Memorial, SPIRIT OF THE FRINGE Award. He also received a second nomination for Best Actor from the Stage for his revamped Under Milk Wood. In February 2004, 12 Angry Men UK toured to International Festivals in Perth, Adelaide and New Zealand to huge acclaim and box office success. And for the Edinburgh Festival 2004 he directed Borge Again! with Rainer Hersch - which soon became a sell out success at Edinburgh, Winnipeg and Montreal, and he returned with one performance of his now legendary Animal Farm. Guy returned to Australia in September of the same year to direct an all-star Australian company - 12 Angry Men OZ - which played Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, which again broke box office records and eventually won three prestigious Greenroom Awards including Best Production and Best Direction. In June 2005, Guy returned to play in London with Under Milk Wood at the Bloomsbury Theatre to great acclaim, during which run, his second daughter, Tallulah was born and his first daughter, Indigo, saw him on stage for the first time. Edinburgh 2005, Guy directed The Odd Couple with Bill Bailey and his company of comedians which this time smashed box office records. He also directed Swift - a monodrama about Jonathan Swift with Jeffrey Mayhew. In 2006 he presented Under Milk Wood at the Adelaide Fringe and then directed with Perrier Award winner Rich Hall in his first play Levelland at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and then at Edinburgh 2006 for which he also directed Cooking With Puccini. 2007 was equally busy. An extensive UK tour was followed by a return trip to the Adelaide Fringe with Fern Hill and Under Milk Wood. For Edinburgh, he presented 7 shows of which he performed in 2 and directed 4! Immediately afterwards, he directed the hugely successful The Eagle Dances starring the acclaimed Native American Ventriloquist Buddy Big Mountain and Ian Shaw for Theatr Mwydan. 2008 sees a return to the Adelaide Fringe with 5 shows including American Poodle (as a solo piece) together with his accliamed productions of Playing Burton, Goering's Defence, Follow Me and of course Under Milk Wood. Edinburgh also shaping nicely with up to 10 shows in the offing. He is very proud of his extensive ties with Australia & New Zealand: Since his first appearances in NZ at Downstage Theatre in Wellington and at the Taranaki International Festival with both Under Milk Wood and Animal Farm in 1997 he has maintained a fruitful association. In 1999 he returned to NZ to present A Soldier's Song, Shylock, Animal Farm and Milk Wood for 17 city NZ national tour including 3 weeks at the Aeotea Centre in Auckland (presented by Tim Balme & Katie Wolf for Tasman Ray). In 2000, he presented Adolf at the NZ International Festival and at the Gold Coast Arts Centre in Australia. In 2001 he directed Ray Henwood in Playing Burton (which won the Chapman Tripp Best Actor Award). In 2003, he played Fern Hill at both Circa Theatre in Wellington and the Taranaki International Festival and he returned to Wellington playing Juror 4 in his own acclaimed production of 12 Angry Men at the 2004 NZ International Festival. In 2006 he presented a very successful season of Under Milk Wood at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and then directed Rich Hall's debut play, Levelland at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. He has also very successfully presented several award winning NZ works at the Edinburgh Fringe including Tim Balme's The Ballad of Jimmy Costello (1997), Skin Tight (1998), Krishnan's Dairy & Bare (1999), No.2 (2000), Filler Up! (2001), Blowing It and The Story of Funk (2003). Directorial credits include: The Eagle Dances, Follow Me, Arnold Wesker's The Mistress, Levelland, The Odd Couple, Swift, 12 Angry Men (UK & OZ productions), Borge Again! Goering's Defence, A Slight Tilt To The Left, Resolution, Adolf, Mom I'm Not A Lawyer, All Words For Sex, Playing Burton (UK & NZ productions), Bye Bye Blackbird, The House Of Correction and The Private Ear & The Public Eye. His extensive theatrical committments have largely prevented him working in other media however, notable televisual work in the UK includes Dennis Potter's Cold Lazarus and Dirty War for the BBC, several commercials and improvised comedy in Brass Eye with Chris Morris. He is currently the "Franziskaner Monk" advertising Franziskaner Weissbier in Germany and Austria! As a freelance critic and feature writer he has been published in The Herald, The Guardian, The Scotsman and The Stage, The Dominion (NZ), The Times of India, and The South China Morning Post (Hong Kong). He is married to Brigitta and father to Indigo and Tallulah.
Guy Masterson Headshots available for download:All images are of high enough resolution for publication at normal sizes.
OTHER IMAGES FOR DOWNLOAD
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