He spent years pacing his prison cell - but now convicted armed robber Adrian Mason is treading the boards as a Shakespearian actor instead.
The 36-year-old man, from Coventry, is currently playing chief villain Edmund in a touring production of King Lear.
And it is all thanks to him vowing to turn his life round and studying drama while in jail.
Nine years on he is on his way to becoming a respected actor and is determined never to go behind bars again.
Mason fell into crime after a troubled childhood in the areas of Willenhall, Stoke Aldermoor and Holbrooks where he was often left to fend for himself and look after his four younger sisters from the age of 12.
He was encouraged into shoplifting and burglary by his parents and was first locked up when he was 14.
"When you get a start in life like mine it is hard to break the cycle. Crime is all I knew and no-one around me cared. No one forced me to go to school, my parents didn't want to change and I didn't know any better." He said.
In July 2000 Adrian was sentenced for seven armed robberies and attempted robberies he had committed over six months.
Two years into his sentence he escaped from prison and was tracked down four days later.
It was after this stunt that Adrian decided his life needed to change. He said: "I realized then I had another six years in prison and needed to do something.
On his release from prison in October 2007 Adrian was under curfew and on a tag. He got a job selling burglar alarms and also worked at a pub.
"I had no help from anyone, but I was determined to get myself together," he said.
"Acting is something I have a passion for and it has been a saving grace for me. I am sorry for all the people I have hurt over the years and I know I can't change what I have done, but if just one person sees what I have achieved and changes their life around, I will be happy." He added.


据英国《每日邮报》7月6日报道：艾德里安•马森曾有过数年的牢狱生活，而今这位持枪抢劫犯终于踏上了舞台，成了一名莎士比亚戏剧的演员。

这名来自英格兰考文垂的36岁男子，目前正在《李尔王》巡回演出中扮演恶棍首领埃德蒙的角色。
所有这些都得益于他立誓改变命运的决心以及他在狱中坚持学习戏剧的恒心。

九年以来，马森一直都在为成为一名受人尊敬的演员而奋斗并决心悔过自新。

马森的童年是在威伦霍尔、斯托克和霍尔布鲁克地区度过的，他从十二岁就开始照顾自己和四个年幼的妹妹，不幸的童年经历使得马森走上了犯罪的道路。


马森的父母教唆他去商店和别人家中行窃，在他十四岁的时候他就第一次被关押起来。

马森说："像我这样从小就生长在那种环境中的人，很容易误入歧途。那时候我满脑子都是干坏事，也没人管。没人让我去上学，我父母也不想让我有所改变，我也不知道做什么好。"


2000年7月，马森因在六个月内持械抢劫和企图抢劫七次而获刑。

入狱两年后，他从监狱里逃了出去，仅仅四天，他就被追捕到了。

就在此后，马森意识到自己的生活需要得到改变。他说："我还得在监狱里待六年，我需要做点什么。"

2007年10月马森被释放，但依然没有获得完全自由。他做起了推销防窃报警器的营生，还在一家酒吧里谋了个差事。

马森说："没有人帮我，但我下定决心要振作起来。"

"我对表演充满了热情，是它救了我。对于之前被我伤害过的所有人，我感到很抱歉，我知道自己无法改变过去，但是哪怕只有一个人能够看到我现在的成绩，能够对他们的生活有点滴改变，我也会很高兴"，他补充说。

• robber [´rɔbə] n.强盗；盗贼 (初中英语单词)
• childhood [´tʃaildhud] n.幼年(时代)；早期 (初中英语单词)
• sentence [´sentəns] n.判决 vt.宣判；处刑 (初中英语单词)
• release [ri´li:s] vt&n.释放；放松；赦免 (初中英语单词)
• passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
• villain [´vilən] n.坏人；恶棍；反面角色 (英语四级单词)
• burglar [´bə:glə] n.(入室行窃的)盗贼 (英语四级单词)