Shows | will-cann-music

I have always been interested in history, studying it to a higher level, along with English Literature. And while learning to play guitar and taking my first musical steps, I was already a confident 'treader of the boards' as an actor, before going on to study drama as an undergraduate. For more than a decade I took part in costumed historical re-enactment to a high level of authenticity, educating and entertaining both on and off the battlefield!

These interests and a thespian background are combined in my One Man Shows, in which I both speak about and perform on a number of my instruments. But what makes these more than just music recitals is the supplementary spoken performance material I use to add historical and literary context to the pieces I play. From a Shakespeare joke about Greensleeves, to a quote from Dickens' Christmas Carol mentioning the tune Sir Roger de Coverley, I bring music spanning six centuries to life, while dressed in period costume!

Past shows have been entitled 'If Music be the Food of Love', 'A Musical Journey through Time and Place', and, most recently, 'Music for Everyday Folk'. I have performed them for groups including The University of the Third Age (U3A), the Retired Teachers Association and The Womens Institute. I have provided music for banquets and Tudor pageants, and also played for the National Trust at Coleridge Cottage for their 'Dress like a Georgian day' and 'Lyrics on the Lawn'.

Playing Solo through the Centuries