09/01/09 » BLIND EYE reading at the Delfont
The first public reading of BLIND EYE (previously "Complicity") is to take place infront of an invited industry audience on February 20th in the Delfont Room at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Casting begins shortly.
18/12/08 » Irish Thriller sets opening date
Benet's production of HOWIE THE ROOKIE will open at the Old Red Lion Theatre, Islington, on March 17th 2009 where it runs until April 4th. Rehearsals begin February 23rd.
27/10/08 » Benet to direct irish two-hander in 2009
Benet has just been asked to direct Mark O'Rowe's amazing play, HOWIE THE ROOKIE, in March 2009. The play premiered at the Bush Theatre in 1999. Kieran Gough and Johnny Vivash star.
15/10/08 » Single Fare a singular success
Last night's performance of SINGLE FARE TO ZURICH went terrifically well. All involved are hoping to remount it in a more central theatre in due course.
03/10/08 » Zurich Cast
After a brilliant set of auditions, Ben has cast Alexa Brown, Emma Carver, John Last and Robert Lightfoot in SINGLE FARE TO ZURICH which gives a one-off performance on October 14th. Rehearsals start on Monday.
30/09/08 » Another week, another festival
Ben is reuniting with writer James Woolf, for whom he directed CITY LIGHTS at the Old Vic in 2005, to direct SINGLE FARE TO ZURICH- a one act comedy about assisted suicide as part of a festival of comedies. Casting takes place this week.
10/09/08 » March Cast
"March"- Benet's 5 minute play for the Lost Festival - is to performed by Austin Hardiman and Mark Martin. It performs, along with nine other short plays, on September 27th at the Tabard Theatre, London.
09/09/08 » War Crimes play heads towards showcase
COMPLICITY, the complex new play on which Ben has been working with writer Susannah Finzi since January, will shortly be taking its first big step with a showcase presentation in London in November.
08/08/08 » 5 Minute Play staged for Lost
Lost Theatre, who awarded Benet their Best New Writing award for ALL TALK, has selected MARCH for their 5-minute festival at the end of September- a mini play about the betrayal of one friend by another.
24/05/08 » Ben completes extravaganza for old school
MAKING HISTORY - the multi-media stage show written and directed by Ben for his former school's 150th anniversary -concluded its performances tonight. Ben was commissioned to write the play a year ago and has been actively working on it since November.
22/04/08 » Steven Berkoff presents award to All Talk
Writer/actor/director Steven Berkoff today presented Benet with the Best New Writing award at a champagne reception in the West End. Berkoff praised the characterisations and the "wonderful writing" and adjudicator Jeremy Kingston emphasised the wit and subtlety of the play. Benet was presented with an engraved trophy.
22/04/08 » Ben wins writing award
Benet was today notified that ALL TALK has won the Best New Writing Award from the Lost Festival. The play will be reprised at the Actors Centre later in the week infront of an invited audience.
09/04/08 » All Talk revived in London
Benet's first play All Talk, which was first presented in 2005, had a one off revival tonight as part of the Lost One Act Festival at the Tabard Theatre. The entire original cast was re-assembled for the production which was enthusiastically praised by Times critic Jeremy Kingston who is adjudicating this year's festival of new and classic one act plays.
22/02/08 » More new play readings
Ben has been continuing with his recent track record of directing staged readings of new plays. This week's BLACK DOG DAY by Sharon Kanolik for the Lucky Dogs' showcase evening at the Tristan Bates followed last month's showcase of James Butler's HISTRIONICS at the Etcetera.
13/02/08 » Dido Rehearsals Begin
Benet's production of Dido and Aeneas, which he is directing for Porcupine Productions at the Grantham Theatre, started rehearsals tonight. It will play in a double bill with Puccini's Il Tabarro, which starts rehearsals next month. They open at Grantham Theatre on April 12th.
11/02/08 » Another New Play In The Offing
Ben has been asked to work with writer Susannah Fenzi on adapting her screenplay Complicity into a stage work. They will be working together over the coming months and hope to be able to mount it early 2009.
04/02/08 » Black Dog Day by Royal Court Writer
Benet has started to direct a staged reading of Black Dog Day, a short play by Sharon Kanolik for an evening of short plays by writers who met through the Royal Court Writers' Programme. It will give two performances on Feb 21st-22nd at the Tristan Bates Theatre in the west end.
19/11/07 » Work Starts on School Extravaganza
Ben has started work researching a stage piece he is creating for his old school, Christ's College, to mark its 150th anniversary. The show, which he was asked to do in May, is to tell the story of the school and the world over the last century and a half and will take place in May 2008.
12/08/07 » Forgotten Classics at the Kings Head
Continuing the theme of short projects which are dominating 2007, Ben directed rehearsed readings of two plays by classic American authors- F Scott Fitzgerald and Eugene O’Neill as part of a quadruple bill of one act plays at the Kings Head. The near-capacity audience gave a warm reception to both.
23/07/07 » Workshop for Giudecca
Ben directed a workshop for the Giudecca theatre company for the play The Yellow Ticket, once famous for being Laurence Olivier’s first foray into Hollywood when it was adapted as a film. The company is considering mounting the first revival of this play about prostitution in pre-war Russia for several decades at some point in the future.
12/07/07 » Lighting "The Forbidden Land"
Once again, Ben lit a production for someone else this week- this time a ballet created by Helen Guscott for the Denise Winmill School of Dance which she co-runs. The ballet, an original dark fairytale based around the music of Shostakovich, comprised a cast of 100 dancers between 6 and 18, and included a brilliant central performance from a soloist for the Royal Ballet. It once again enhanced Ben’s interest in lighting, which he has designed for most of his own shows for the last ten years as well as several for other people.
06/05/07 » A Shorter Measure of Measure For Measure
At short notice, Ben stepped in to direct the first of several staged readings of Shakespeare plays for Metta Theatre at the White Bear. He chose Measure for Measure, a play he has hoped to direct for many years, and working on this abridged reason has made his keenness all the more acute.
23/02/07 » Back to the Drawing Board
Following the eleventh hour cancellation of his writer-director debut, I’m the King of the Castle, Ben has been using his unexpectedly barren spring to get back to work on various writing projects. These include a second act for his first play All Talk, researching a new play called for now The Kids Project, and working with his agent on finding a future for Castle. He will also be helping to direct a cabaret of songs and operatic arias for Porcupine Productions in Grantham, for whom he helped direct Dido and Aeneas last year.
