Interview: James Willett on lockdown, new musical Mascherato and his hopes for the theatre industry

Writer James Willett has been writing and developing new musicals since 2012, along with writing short stories, novels and dramatic plays. He has been a part of a panel discussion at Chichester Festival Theatre and his pieces are noted for their unique flair. James wrote the book for Mascherato, a new musical that was first performed as a workshop in 2017, with music, lyrics and an original concept by Michael Elderkin. In 2020, an extremely challenging year for the arts industry, a cast recording of Mascherato was made and released. I talked to James about how he has been handling the lockdowns and what it was like to work on and record a musical with Covid-secure procedures in place. 

Firstly, how are you feeling about being back in lockdown? 

Honestly? Tired and a little defeated, but I think that’s a sentiment shared by everyone. There is definitely a sense of yo-yoing with this going in and out of lockdown, and you do start to wonder when it’s going to end. But hopefully, if we all stick with the rule and throw our whole support behind the NHS and the vaccination programme, then this will be the last lockdown, and I will never again have to look at a picture of someone’s sourdough attempt on Twitter!

Is there anything we, as theatre fans, can do to help the arts industry in these trying times?

I think one of the biggest things we can do is make ourselves aware of new talent, or talent we haven’t come across yet. Big names will be able to, in the long run, weather the tough times. But people just starting out, or people who aren’t as well known outside of the industry, they are struggling and do need our support. Whether that’s by watching the concerts and shows being streamed or just scouring social media. I know, thanks to being glued to my screen for most of lockdown, I have stumbled across a lot of new people who have made me laugh and stunned me with their talent (and made me desperate to work with them!) so I am glad for that. 

What is your favourite thing about the theatre industry?

I think it’s the freedom to be able do anything and everything. There are no bad ideas in theatre, just dodgy executions. I mean, this is an industry where a show about singing trains got made. So as long as you’ve got the passion for your project, someone’s going to trust you to make it. 

Can you please tell us more about Mascherato, the musical for which you wrote the book?

So, Mascherato is a brand-new musical with book and lyrics by Michael Elderkin, who also created the concept behind the show. It’s an epic tale of love and war, set in 18th Century Venice and follows Luca and Elena, a young couple who meet and fall in love during Venice’s world-famous carnival. However, the pair are ripped apart when the Venetians go to war against the Ottoman Empire. When Luca finally returns to the city, he must fight against fate in order to win Elena back. 

What was your favourite thing about working on Mascherato? 

That’s a difficult one because there are so many! I think my favourite moment was hearing the live orchestra for the first time. Up until then, Michael had been playing me the demos he’d created on the computer – and obviously they sounded great – but there’s nothing better than hearing it live. Especially hearing it live at Abbey Road studios as well! We were really lucky with our orchestra and our conductor; they were all fantastic. Also hearing the cast perform as well, as that was the first time I’d heard my words said out loud (at least by someone other than me!) It only made me more eager to have the full, unabridged script performed! 

What was it like to make the cast recording of Mascherato in 2020, with all of the rules and restrictions in place?

Tough, to put it simply. We weren’t really affected when we were recording the orchestrations, Covid hadn’t quite hit its peak then. But when we brought the actors and singers in, that’s when things got tricky. We were able to do our first couple of sessions alright, although we did have a couple of actors drop out, which was entirely understandable, and we had anticipated that it might happen. At that point Michael and I did think that we would have to postpone it indefinitely; we weren’t sure when the lockdown would end and even if it did, we didn’t know if the remaining actors would be willing to come in, or even if the studio would open. 

However, thankfully, Michael worked tirelessly, sending a thousand different emails in order to keep everyone as up to date as possible and as soon as the first lockdown was eased, the studio got in contact and said that we were able to come back in. Of course then we had strict guidelines to follow. Only three of us were allowed in the studio, six feet apart, masks on at all times and we could only have one actor at a time. Frankly, to this day I consider it a miracle we were able to finish it. But it wasn’t a miracle, it was down to the hard work of Michael and our engineer, who both went above and beyond to get this show finished and we were able to release it in August. 

Other than working on Mascherato, how have you been keeping yourself busy during the lockdowns?

Writing. A lot of writing. Well, I say a lot – mostly I sit in front of the laptop swearing because I can’t think of what to type next. But in all honesty, I’ve been working on several projects, including a new play and a new musical; both of which are ready to be workshopped as soon as this lockdown is loosened. I also write a lot of short stories, which I like to share on my own personal blog: Amusing Musings (shameless self-plug!) Also, like everyone else, I’ve been binge-ing a lot of television and reading. 

With the theatres currently closed and so much being shared online, do you think that we are seeing a big change in how the industry works for the time being?

Oh, most definitely and I don’t think it will be a temporary change. I think a lot of people will have grown used to having theatre in their living rooms and will hope that it continues after lockdown. That, I think, can only be a good thing. There is a mild worry that people might be less inclined to visit theatres but that is drowned out by my optimism that even more people will now have access to see theatre. Now people don’t have to worry about exorbitant train fares, or the packed London streets, or the noisy git a few rows down with the rusty packet of Maltesers! But I think we’ve seen a lot of great innovations this past year which, again, comes from new writers and producers and I sincerely hope that, not only it carries on, but it is embraced post-lockdown. 

Have you watched any of the theatre content that has been made available online over the lockdowns? If yes, do you have a favourite show or event that you have watched?

I have yes but even I have to admit it’s not as much as I would like. Each time I watch something online, I have a pang for the auditorium. Plus, the old instincts of a front of house usher kick in. My head keeps bobbing up looking for someone on their phone, only to realise I’m still stuck in my bedroom! This is going to sound strange and I’m sure it doesn’t count but my favourite things have been the little videos shared on Twitter by theatre creatives like Oscar Conlon Morrey and Phillip Joel, they always make me chuckle. But if you want a more conforming answer, I’d have to say Flowers for Mrs Harris. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did; I’m not one for sentimental things such as that. Or Mascherato. Can I say that? Is it to self-congratulatory to say that?!

Looking towards the future, what are your hopes for arts industry once venues are allowed to reopen again? Do you think that the industry will be able to bounce back?  

Full houses, hopefully. Yes, I think the industry will be able to bounce back. Will it be easy? Of course not. But this is theatre, what about it is ever easy? But we will need help; both from the public and the government. For a start they can get around to helping the thousands of freelancers they’ve left to flounder for these long, long months, but also from us who work in the industry, I think this obscenely extended period has given us a long time to look at how the theatre world was beforehand, and what we want it to look like moving forward. The only way we can achieve that change is by pushing new talent into the spotlight. We need producers to trust in new ideas, not just endless adaptations of films from the ‘80s and countless revivals, and most definitely not twenty different versions of A Christmas Carol for the Winter season! But I am hopeful, which is strange for me. I’ve seen a lot of hugely talented, incredibly hard working and awe-inspiring people on Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms, and it gives me hope that theatre will be thriving before too long. Also, when theatres are back open, I hope for a pay rise. I won’t get one, but it’s nice to dream!

If you would like to listen to Mascherato, it is available on Spotify, Apple music, Amazon music and YouTube Music.

Please note: this interview also features on blog site Musical Theatre Lives In Me.