Think No Evil of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams
James Seabright presents
DAVID BENSON
in the tenth anniversary UK tour of his award-winning solo show
Think No Evil of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams
“I thought it WAS Kenneth!” Dame Maggie Smith
David Benson’s legendary solo show is back for a tenth anniversary tour, celebrating the incredible ongoing popularity of this hilarious, endearing and uncanny drama.
Since Think No Evil of Us first stunned Edinburgh audiences in 1996 – picking up a Fringe First Award along the way – Benson and Williams toured the length and breadth of the British Isles from Shetland to Cornwall, ending up triumphantly in the West End of London. Now Benson returns to his masterpiece, bringing the show to new audiences and giving die-hard fans another opportunity to savour the wit and sheer dramatic flair of this unforgettable performance.
Think No Evil of Us is Benson’s attempt to break the mold of the ‘biographical’ show, eschewing dates, facts and over-familiar anecdotes. “I want to portray Williams as a character rather than as an historical figure,” he says. Benson builds a portrait of a highly complex man: vulnerable, insecure and capable of breathtaking cruelty. What fascinates him above all is Williams’ ability “continually to redeem himself by turning his private torment into blistering comedy.”
In a hilarious yet moving autobiographical section of the show, Benson’s explains his own ‘link’ with Williams: at the age of thirteen he wrote a story for the Jackanory Writing Competition – and won. He dreamed of having is story read on air by his hero, Spike Milligan. But to his dismay, it was read by the campest man in Britain: Kenneth Williams himself. As Benson explains, for a boy attending a Birmingham comprehensive school – and struggling with his own sexuality, not to mention a mad mother – the Williams connection was to prove something of a burden!
Hailed by friends and colleagues of Kenneth’s (including Barbara Windsor, Nicholas Parsons, Sheila Hancock, Barry Took and Dame Maggie Smith) as the most accurate portrayal of Kenneth Williams ever seen, Think No Evil of Us remains a testament to a much-missed entertainer and a masterpiece of modern theatre. The show appeals to audiences from a wide age range, including those not familiar with Williams’ work. The show has been in particular demand recently following the broadcast of Benson’s BBC Radio 4 series, The Private World of Kenneth Williams, which is based on the entertainer’s infamous diaries.
'Unforgettable and inspirational theatre' - INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
'Brilliant... a truly remarkable event' - Michael Coveney, MAIL ON SUNDAY
'A masterpiece of comic timing' - EVENING STANDARD
David Benson’s
Think No Evil Of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams
For further information and interview requests please contact
Kat Portman on 020 7439 1173 or 0777 575 8098 or kat@seabright.info
Further details on David Benson are available from
www.davidbenson.info
DAVID BENSON
in the tenth anniversary UK tour of his award-winning solo show
Think No Evil of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams
“I thought it WAS Kenneth!” Dame Maggie Smith
David Benson’s legendary solo show is back for a tenth anniversary tour, celebrating the incredible ongoing popularity of this hilarious, endearing and uncanny drama.
Since Think No Evil of Us first stunned Edinburgh audiences in 1996 – picking up a Fringe First Award along the way – Benson and Williams toured the length and breadth of the British Isles from Shetland to Cornwall, ending up triumphantly in the West End of London. Now Benson returns to his masterpiece, bringing the show to new audiences and giving die-hard fans another opportunity to savour the wit and sheer dramatic flair of this unforgettable performance.
Think No Evil of Us is Benson’s attempt to break the mold of the ‘biographical’ show, eschewing dates, facts and over-familiar anecdotes. “I want to portray Williams as a character rather than as an historical figure,” he says. Benson builds a portrait of a highly complex man: vulnerable, insecure and capable of breathtaking cruelty. What fascinates him above all is Williams’ ability “continually to redeem himself by turning his private torment into blistering comedy.”
In a hilarious yet moving autobiographical section of the show, Benson’s explains his own ‘link’ with Williams: at the age of thirteen he wrote a story for the Jackanory Writing Competition – and won. He dreamed of having is story read on air by his hero, Spike Milligan. But to his dismay, it was read by the campest man in Britain: Kenneth Williams himself. As Benson explains, for a boy attending a Birmingham comprehensive school – and struggling with his own sexuality, not to mention a mad mother – the Williams connection was to prove something of a burden!
Hailed by friends and colleagues of Kenneth’s (including Barbara Windsor, Nicholas Parsons, Sheila Hancock, Barry Took and Dame Maggie Smith) as the most accurate portrayal of Kenneth Williams ever seen, Think No Evil of Us remains a testament to a much-missed entertainer and a masterpiece of modern theatre. The show appeals to audiences from a wide age range, including those not familiar with Williams’ work. The show has been in particular demand recently following the broadcast of Benson’s BBC Radio 4 series, The Private World of Kenneth Williams, which is based on the entertainer’s infamous diaries.
'Unforgettable and inspirational theatre' - INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
'Brilliant... a truly remarkable event' - Michael Coveney, MAIL ON SUNDAY
'A masterpiece of comic timing' - EVENING STANDARD
David Benson’s
Think No Evil Of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams
For further information and interview requests please contact
Kat Portman on 020 7439 1173 or 0777 575 8098 or kat@seabright.info
Further details on David Benson are available from
www.davidbenson.info
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