We dived into the dazzling world of Henry Cyril Paget, the fifth Marquis of Anglesey, chatting with the talented cast behind How to Win Against History which is heading to Norwich Theatre Playhouse between 23 – 26 Jul. Matthew Blake, Seiriol Davies, and Dylan Townley spoke to us about the show, their roles, shared fascinating facts about the Marquis, and even revealed their dream party guests!
Who do you play in How to Win Against History?
Seiriol: I play Henry Cyril Paget, the fabulous, cross-dressing fifth Marquis of Anglesey, who lived in Edwardian times and bankrupted his mega-wealthy family putting on sparkling plays with him in!
Dylan: I play Maestro, leader of our fabulous onstage band and profoundly employable goon-for-hire.
Matthew: I play Alexander Keith, Henry’s actor, manager, friend, slash colleague, slash mentor. Keith also plays his wife Lilian, a Dresden-based aesthete called Lord Berners and a Daily Mail reporter called Quentin (any similarities between any real Daily Mail journalists called Quentin are purely coincidental).
Are there any similarities between you and your character?
Seiriol: No, because my character is very attention-seeking and loves dancing about and being silly, whereas I… oh, wait.
Dylan: I grew up quite near the revered railway town of Didcot, all of which I play in the show at one point. Spoiler alert!
Matthew: Well, I am an actor, and so is he. I’m also the same height and build, which is useful as it means I can fit into the costume. He’s probably a bit more mercenary than I am. I’m, of course, in it for the art and applause.
What’s your favourite item of clothing your character wears and why?
Seiriol: I love my outfit for the finale; it’s a gorgeous, glittering jumpsuit concoction with a tutu and a big cape. It’s equal parts fierce and insane.
Dylan: The padded Renaissance cream jacket with gold tassels and emerald brooch might be the loveliest thing I’ve ever worn. And the bar was high: in the past, I’ve dressed as a cloud.
Matthew: I love the gold shoes because they are both stylish and comfortable.
If you had to diamante one thing, what would it be?
Seiriol: The inside of all of Nigel Farage’s underwear, forever.
Dylan: An actual diamond, who rejects their destiny as a precious stone and embraces a life on knock-off clutch bags and vodka-stained heels. A metaphor for the show? Almost!
Matthew: Would I have to do the diamante-ing myself? If so, I would choose a very small item, like a keyring, because it would take a long time and still probably not look very good, as I’m quite clumsy. However, if someone else was doing the diamante-ing, I would choose something like my living room (the whole thing, floor, walls, sofa, ceiling, shelves etc) as I think it would be quite a nice conversation for soiree guests who didn’t know each other if I was busy in the kitchen making drinks and couldn’t do proper introductions.
Who would you invite to a FABULOUS party, dead or alive?
Seiriol: Let’s say Shirley Bassey and Andrew Tate. I’d love to see her annihilate him with one slash of her feather boa.
Dylan: Nina Simone, Tim Minchin, Charles-Valentin Alkan, plus a couple of grand pianos with drink holders and lavishly painted ashtrays.
Matthew: My friends, because they would bring the fabulous and when I’m on tour, I don’t get to see them very much, so it would be nice to have a catch-up.
Favourite fact about Henry Cyril?
Seiriol: He had a walking stick with a robot parrot head on the top.
Dylan: I love that Henry turned the ancient family chapel into a theatre. I believe this event was the origin of the word sacrilegious.
Matthew: Alexander Keith was one of his creditors when he bankrupted the family. He owed Keith over £4000. It is unclear from what we know if Keith was ever repaid.
What would your drink of choice be when watching the show?
Seiriol: Dry fizz, maybe with a drop of Chambord because sometimes you’ve just got to be nice to yourself, haven’t you?
Dylan: Anything you can sip from a cut crystal chalice, or a sensible plastic vessel permitted by your local theatre.
Matthew: Mine would be a nice, cold, dirty gin Martini, but they are quite small, so I would need a few throughout. Keith’s would be a bottle of cheap plonk and a bowl of cheesy Wotsits.
Why should people come to see How to Win Against History?
Seiriol: Because it’s a heck of a night out! It’s joyous, hilarious, outrageous, moving and packed with more sparkle than you’ve had hot dinners. It’s also celebrating part of our history that the powers-that-be tried to take from us – an absolutely nuts and wonderful part.
Dylan: You’ll definitely probably laugh, you might cry, and you’ll come out humming sparkly tunes in styles ranging from Gilbert & Sullivan to disco to glam rock. It’s a musical theatre feast!
Matthew: Because it’s a fun, sparkly show with great songs and silly jokes. Aaaaand it’s only 90 mins long! So if you’re anything like me, you’ll be thrilled that you’ve been able to have a fun evening out and still be in bed by 10pm. HEAVEN.
Anything else the people of Norwich should know?!
Seiriol: Henry also had a car that gave out rose-scented exhaust fumes. It’s not really relevant to the show, but it’s awesome.
Dylan: People of Norwich! Our show is coming to your wonderful city, and we would love to see you there. Hopefully, this has already come across, but it doesn’t hurt to specify.
Matthew: I think the people of Norwich are very intelligent, so I shan’t assume they know less than I.
