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Masks
At the behest of his patron, a medieval scribe narrates his ordeal as an inquisitive, befuddled six-year-old on tour with his family troupe of players. Performing their farces across a landscape of war, plague, religious strife and feral cats, they travel from sunny Greece into the uncharted north, playing market fairs and noblemen's banquets, while transporting a hamper of curse-bearing masks that intrude themselves into the boy's dreams and the troupe's reality, culminating in a Nordic Armageddon. Though set in Late Antiquity, it's based on the authors' own experience as a family of traveling players with an offbeat mix of farce and playing for gods, playing for peasants, playing for cats. It's about carrying the curses bequeathed by previous generations, dealing with catcalls and calamities, improvising making sense of the fears that provoke self-destruction and improvising the strategies of daily survival.
256 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2021
About the author
Conrad Bishop
21 books127 followers55 years of theatre work & writing in collaboration with Elizabeth Fuller. Ph.D. Stanford, but left college teaching to found a professional theatre ensemble, Theatre X, then formed The Independent Eye, now in its 41st season. 60+ plays & revues produced, both by the Eye and theatres nationally, as well as 4 public radio series. Bishop & Fuller twice recipients of NEA writing fellowships. Many years of national touring. Raised in Midwest, lived in Chicago, Milwaukee, Lancaster, Philadelphia, and now Sebastopol, CA. Began writing prose fiction in 2012.
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December 6, 2021
“Masks” introduces Bragi as he recalls the story of his early years to an inquirer. The story he tells occurs when he is six years old and on tour with his family as part of a traveling play.
Overall, I was a little torn by this tale. This story takes place in a time period which lends itself to some terrible occurrences and behaviors and the authors seem to include all of them and rather early on in the story. The darkness of these portions of the story highlight the lighter parts including some of the humor and teaching moments between Bragi and his Gramma (who was absolutely my favorite character). It also works to highlight the necessity of the relief plays could provide in such uncertain times. Find the full review at heatherlbarksdale.com
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
Overall, I was a little torn by this tale. This story takes place in a time period which lends itself to some terrible occurrences and behaviors and the authors seem to include all of them and rather early on in the story. The darkness of these portions of the story highlight the lighter parts including some of the humor and teaching moments between Bragi and his Gramma (who was absolutely my favorite character). It also works to highlight the necessity of the relief plays could provide in such uncertain times. Find the full review at heatherlbarksdale.com
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
Displaying 1 of 1 review