Boundless. Limitless. Fluid. Eternal. Sounds peaceful, doesnt it?

Like Hell.

A writer, backstage during the premiere of their first ever play. A darkly humorous presence, sheltered by a sunny disposition. A witness.

There will be secrets. There will be signs. There will be ringing phones, and peering mannequins, and a sense of slow, creeping dread you can’t quite pin down.

As darkness begins to descend, focus starts to shift, and boundaries between the mortal and the timeless shimmer and blur, a terrifying question begs to be answered: how much is too much of the soul to unmask before an audience?

A heady, immersive mix of rich theatricality, conversational wickedness, and fizzing improvisation, this solo show explores what it truly means to mask and unmask – as a writer, as a performer, and as a human being.

Through the mechanism of an unknowable and malevolent entity and a notably notorious play-within-a-play, it examines a number of metatheatrical themes, including: the nature of authorial control and the “bargain” made with an audience upon entering a performance space; the relationship between a playwright and their work and how much can be inferred about the former from the contents of the latter; and the risk of fully knowing, embracing, and leading with the least acceptable and lovable parts of one’s own soul.

There will be dark humour, there will be blood, and there will be Cosmic horror puns galore, but there will also be a huge amount of joy, celebration, camaraderie, and also, hopefully, a feeling of being truly seen and recognised in one’s best, worst, and most extreme forms.

Unmasked is Anusia Battersby’s second one-woman show, and will be staged at The King’s Arms on the 6th and 7th of July (9pm) and on the 11th of July (4pm)

To buy tickets go to – https://greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk/events/unmasked