Phoenix Fry

Across the world, we humans have created masquerade traditions that are both beautiful and startling. Whenever there’s the need for communities to process and incorporate a significant change, we turn ourselves into monsters, animals and spirits.

In 2019, three years after the Brexit vote, the UK had little sense of its relationship with the rest of the world. What better time, then, to use masquerade traditions from the UK, Europe and further afield – along with a wildly free sense of dressing up – to reimagine ourselves in relation to our neighbours?

Conceived as a radically inclusive event – and thanks to support from an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant – I worked with local partners Horniman Museum, IRIE! Dance Theatre, Goldsmiths’ Confucius Institute, Artmongers, Heart n Soul, Deptford’s VietSchool and Bear Cubs and to produce the ‘planned’ section of the parade. Meanwhile our costume-making workshops – and an intense PR campaign – encouraged hundreds of local adults and children (along with brass marching band Les Zoings) to participate.

In times like this, the monsters come, to guide us through the change / They come from all around the world whenever things get strange / With fright’ning heads and clanging bells and furs and branches too / they say goodbye to things gone past, and beckon in the new / And this November, if you dare (no need to be afraid) / please join the friendly monsters on their winter-time parade!