Matthew Munson: Theatre, education and career aspirations

Since we spoke last, Christmas and New Year have come and gone, and we’re now knee-deep into 2026.

My Christmas was quiet – with my son and my parents (with my mum doing all the practicalities of cooking and organising; she knows what she’s doing with all of that). Bryan and I had considered going into Broadstairs for New Year’s Eve to watch the fireworks, but the cold weather convinced us to stay indoors instead with a takeaway, a film, and central heating.

Bryan also took part in a local panto, along with other dancers from Masque Theatre School, and he had a lovely time. It was at the Sarah Thorne Theatre, just as the indomitable team there discovered that they could get the freehold of the building and secure its future. That was a wonderful thing to celebrate with the team there, and very well deserved – having a local community theatre is a rare privilege, and it’s fantastic to know it’s going to be carrying on. Young people like Bryan get to tread the boards close to home as a result, and the value of that can never be overstated.

I’m not one for making resolutions. If there’s a particular challenge I want to try and achieve, I don’t particularly feel the need to wait until 1st January, or a Monday, or the next month, or … well, you get the picture.

Pushing myself usually means trying to learn something new, or to try and get better at something. In the past, I’ve studied sign language at Adult Ed, but those classes started on a random date in September rather than the first day on a fresh page of the calendar.

I’ve got rusty with my sign language over the years; I’ve had fewer and fewer opportunities to use it, more’s the pity. It’s something I’d like to pick up again in the future, but only when I’m ready – which isn’t right now, as I have other things I want to focus on.

It goes without saying that my first priority – as always – is my brilliant son. He turns 15 this year, and we need to start having bigger conversations about what he wants to do post-16. I want him to feel like he’s got opportunities and choices, so I need to be present and engaged as his dad to make sure I can help him.

When I was his age – nearly 30 years ago – I always knew the ultimate choice was mine. My parents never tried to steer me towards or away from a particular path; it was always down to me to decide what the right path was – and, if that didn’t end up being right, there were always going to be other choices somewhere along the road.

I’m glad I was never told that I “had” to do this or that; I like to think I know myself pretty well, and there are many jobs and courses that clearly wouldn’t have suited me. Medicine, firefighting, science … all career paths that I completely ignored. I’m squeamish, asthmatic, and struggle with complex maths  and anything more scientific than a Bunsen burner.

I’ve ended up having an eclectic career – from library assistant and communications officer to buyer and local government officer – and, believe me, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. My main focus has been wanting to help people in various ways, and – with only a few exceptions in my career history – that’s the path I’ve gone down. I’m not someone who seeks out a particular title; I don’t need to be a chief executive or senior vice president in charge of paperclips to feel like I’ve made a difference.

I’ve also written a lot of different things throughout my life; three novels that have been published, short stories, and a blog for many years. I’ve not made any money from that part of my career … yet, but this is an ongoing ambition of mine.

If anyone asked me what my ideal job would be, the answer would be simple; Writer. Maybe one day, I’ll achieve it. I’m certainly working hard to try and make it happen. I’m deep in the planning stage for this fantasy series I want to create, and it’s certainly the most ambitious I’ve ever aimed for. But ambition is good, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.