Behind the Iron Mask

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Behind the Iron Mask: A West End Misadventure

"Behind the Iron Mask" stumbled onto the West End stage in 2005, a musical that aimed to unravel the mystery of Alexandre Dumas’ enigmatic prisoner but instead unraveled itself. Opening at the Duchess Theatre on August 2 after previews from July 20, it starred Sheila Ferguson of The Three Degrees fame, alongside Robert Fardell and Mark McKerracher. With music and lyrics by John Robinson and a book by Colin Scott and Melinda Walker, the show promised intrigue but delivered disaster, closing on August 20 after just two weeks. As of March 23, 2025, it’s remembered as one of Theatreland’s most notorious flops, a cautionary tale of ambition outpacing execution.

A Dream Turned Nightmare

The musical sprang from the mind of John Robinson, a retired aerospace engineer turned composer, who self-funded the project through his company, GMB Productions Ltd. Inspired by Dumas’ The Man in the Iron Mask, Robinson wrote the score and lyrics, enlisting Scott and Walker to shape a story for just three actors—a prisoner, his jailer, and a gypsy. After a demo featuring Fardell, the production skipped traditional development, rushing to the Duchess with a mere four weeks of rehearsal and two days of tech. Directed by Tony Craven, with designs by Nicolai Hart Hansen, it aimed for a summer slot when competition was lighter, but its hasty birth proved fatal.

A Bare-Bones Tale

The plot centers on an unnamed prisoner (Fardell) locked away by Louis XIV, his face hidden in an iron mask, tended by a jailer (McKerracher). A gypsy (Ferguson) stumbles into their world, sparking a bizarre love triangle that ends with a twist suggesting the jailer and prisoner share a deeper bond. Stripped of Dumas’ musketeers and royal intrigue, the story leans on songs like “Who’s the Prisoner Here?” and clunky exchanges—“Why do you wear the iron mask? / Don’t ask!”—to fill its two-hour runtime. The minimal cast and sparse staging aimed for intimacy but landed as undercooked, leaving audiences baffled rather than captivated.

A Critical Massacre

Opening night unleashed a torrent of venom from critics, sealing the show’s fate. The Guardian called it “relentlessly awful,” with lyrics that grated like elevator music gone wrong. The Evening Standard dubbed it a “cast-iron turkey,” suggesting ticket-buyers deserved imprisonment, while The Independent likened the mask to a “battered saucepan” and the show to a “metalwork-class disaster.” The Daily Express mourned its “leaden lyrics” and lack of memorable tunes, with Ferguson’s energy as the gypsy the lone bright spot. Facing half-empty houses—sometimes just 200 of 479 seats filled—and a £500,000 budget hemorrhaging cash, producer Robinson pulled the plug, ending a run that rivaled flops like Murderous Instincts for infamy.

A Faint Echo

Two decades later, on March 23, 2025, "Behind the Iron Mask" lingers as a West End oddity. A studio cast recording with Fardell, McKerracher, and Claire Kershaw (replacing Ferguson) offers a glimpse of its ambitions, but no revivals have dared resurrect it. Its failure underscores the perils of under-preparation and the West End’s unforgiving spotlight, especially for new works in August’s lean season. For theatre historians, it’s a study in hubris—a reminder that even a tale as rich as the Man in the Iron Mask can rust when forged with more passion than polish.