We caught up with entertainer Marcus Freed before he brings his captivating one-man show, Marcus is Alive, to Manchester.
Marcus Freed is an author, actor, and educator who tells stories that entertain, uplift, and teach. He’ll be performing his latest show, Marcus is Alive, at Manchester Jewish Museum (MJM) on 24th July.
Blending biting humour with spiritual insight and raw storytelling, the show is a heartwarming journey about one crazy night in LA: a hit-and-run, near-death experience, two brain surgeries, six failed marriage proposals, a psychic detective, and a wayward Rabbi. Marcus is still alive, but the real mystery is why—and why are any of us here?
Marcus was born in Watford and currently lives in Los Angeles. He also has semicha and has enjoyed many visits to the Manchester Jewish community over the years, especially during his time as Education Director for the Union of Jewish Students, enjoying many Shabbats with friends in North Manchester:
“The community is so lovely, warm, and welcoming. I have a lot of love for MJM and I’m so happy to be performing there.”
Part of the show follows Marcus trying to find the driver from the hit-and-run that resulted in him having two brain surgeries, in an almost unbelievable tale of events:
“I did a radio interview, contacted over 50 journalists, filed a John Doe lawsuit, hired two forensic sketch artists and created a wanted poster with a $10,000 reward, hired a psychic investigator and forensic hypnotist, and did a stakeout. I was so determined to find him. But as a result of him disappearing soon after the accident, it took me on a profound journey to learn to release and forgive him.”
Originally, Marcus was adamant that he didn’t want to make a show out of his experiences:
“I was resisting writing this as a play because I don’t think theatre should be used for personal therapy, it should be about the audience – believe it or not, it is just about possible to be an actor without being a narcissist,” he joked. “Once I’d worked through the trauma and the therapy, I realised that I had a legitimately interesting—and completely crazy—story that needed to be told.
“At the heart of it is a very important story about humanity and trying to find our place in the world. But there is also lots of entertainment and comedy!”
Marcus’ faith is not only a core theme in the show but has also been fundamental in his recovery:
“The Talmud says we should bless on the good and bad, because ultimately, everything is good. A teaching that has particularly stuck with me is from Tanya by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, where he said that every curse has got a blessing within it, and the more we look for the blessing within the curse, the more the blessing is revealed. I made it my mission from when I was lying in bed in the ICU to find it.
“It’s not just positive thinking or looking on the bright side. They say that pain is essential, but suffering is optional, so I just kept looking for blessings and I found so many of them. To such an extent that seven years on, I ask myself, was the miracle that I survived—or was it that I was hit by the car?”
Having recently finished a run in LA at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, the feedback for Marcus is Alive has been phenomenal, and Marcus is keen for Manchester audiences to experience a new appreciation for life after seeing the show:
“I don’t want to preach, because as a writer, that’s not my job. But I just want people to have a great experience of theatre with a renewed appreciation for life, more gratitude, and feeling of being alive.”