Maskerade underway

GEMCO Theatre is gearing up for their final performances of the year for their version of Terry Pratchett’s comedy/drama Maskerade which opened on Friday.
Maskerade’s director and Gemco president Evie Housman said the cast were well and truly prepared for the opening night.
“We’ve just got a few technical things to go over, but other than that we are good to go.” she said.
The cast have been working tirelessly to bring together this performance, a story about witches investigating ghosts and murder. Ms Housman said the audience could expect a few laughs.
“If you know the work of Terry Pratchett, you’ll know that his life observations are very good. He’s very deep and thoughtful. Also his sense of ridiculous is fantastic.” she said
Ms Housman said the best thing about the play was that it was centralised around women, something that was not often seen in theatre.
She said it was a great play to direct because it showcased the females of her cast.
“It’s a good equal battle, it pits strong women against strong men,” she said.
And she’s hoping to do more of those stories in the future, including the next instalment of the stories of the witches with Pratchett’s Carpe Jugulum next on her to do list.
She could not speak more highly of her hard working cast, saying that they made her job so much easier to do because of their focus and determination.
“The cast are absolutely fantastic coming up with ideas. Makes the job of the director so much easier. I had such a great team working with me,” she said.
When asked about her nerves ahead of opening night, she said being nervous wasn’t the best way to describe it. In fact, she said, she was “more relieved” days before opening night.
Maskerade opened on Friday14 November and runs until 29 November at the Gem Theatre. For tickets visit www.gemcoplayers.org/maskerade