F. Howard Burnham

F. Howard Burnham loves history and theater. He was educated in modern history at the University of Durham in England. He also acted in theater there. In 1973, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London.

He was working in education in England for many years when he got bored and took off with his wife for America in 1998. Their first stop was South Carolina. There, he wrote and performed theatrical, one-man monologues of historical figures for the National Park Service, the Richland County Public Library and the South Carolina Arts Commission.

Owing to the region and his accent – more James Bond than Jason Statham – the roles were mostly Brits involved in early American wars, like Lord Cornwallis, Thomas Paine and Frank Vizetelly. He’s lived in Pacific Grove for five years now and has expanded his roster to include Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, Ian Fleming, Lewis Carroll, Thomas Hardy – more than 60 historical personas.

He’s a popular, erudite and flexible entertainer. He’s performed at the local Rotary Club, Park Lane and Canterbury Woods, The Bookworks and The Little House in Jewell Park. At the latter, in February, he did Sir Percy Florence Shelley, dressed in formal coat and tails, showing photos on a “magic lantern” (a Powerpoint slideshow), expounding on his mother Mary Shelley for the bicentennial of her book Frankenstein. He also did a rare American – Ansel Adams – because he already had the beard going for a role at Monterey Peninsula College Theater.

Weekly: How do you describe what you do?

Burnham: I’m teaching history in an entertaining way. I am a historical butterfly. I flit from period to period. I love the past. It’s made us what we are.

What school of acting do you subscribe to?

I don’t really. I’ve never been to drama school. I think I’m a classical actor. Shakespeare is my god. But I’ll do anything.

What kinds of costumes and wigs do you don?

I’m a great fan of Goodwill. I do have quite a lot of Victorian stuff from England. On the East Coast I commissioned people to make uniforms for me. Occasionally the wonderful costume people at PacRep have helped me. And I can ply a needle myself.

How do you play someone for whom there are no audio or visual recordings?

I use my training as a historian to do the best I can. I played Thomas “Carolina Gamecock” Sumter in a nice sing-song Welsh accent. A wonderful Southern “Bubba” came up and said [in a drawl], “Don’t ya know he’s a Southern hero?” “Yes, I do, but back in the 18th century he wouldn’t’ have sounded like you, sir.” I didn’t say that to him. He was much bigger than me.

Do you tell women’s stories through men in their lives?

I played Queen Victoria in drag once. But I’m not a female impersonator. For [a presentation on] Unity Mitford, Hitler’s girlfriend, I play her father.

What else do you do in performance?

I’m scheduled to play Polonius in Hamlet at MPC. In the summer, at PacRep, I’m in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. In the fall I’m in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus.

Are your fans Anglophiles?

They are people who like history and literature. [My] being a Brit doesn’t hurt.

How do you juggle multiple characters in one show?

It’s one thing I’m good at. I was born with a bone deficiency so I couldn’t play sports. I can’t change a tire. But I’m quite good at remembering things and changing voices.

Do Americans grasp our own history?

It varies enormously. The smart Americans I meet are well informed. I’ve met people who have no concept of American history beyond the Superbowl. It’s true of every nation.

What themes do you like to explore?

I suppose the human condition. Why are we here? Is there a purpose? I consider that all the time, the older one gets. The measure of being a human being by exploring all these other lives. I have the privilege of having 50, 60, 70 lives.

F. HOWARD BURNHAM appears in MPC Theatre Company’s production of Hamlet March 1-18. mpctheaterco.com.