Welcome
Ben is Co-Artistic Director of Scottish theatre company Grid Iron. He works almost exclusively in the field of location theatre and site-responsive work and from 2004-2008 was a Director of the Dutch theatre company Muztheater.
Recent work includes Tryst for Grid Iron at Stavanger 2008, The Tailor of Inverness for Dogstar and Yarn for Grid Iron at Dundee Rep; Grid Iron's first production for children, Pauline Mol's Once Upon A Dragon; Grid Iron's tenth anniversary production of Roam, co-produced with the National Theatre of Scotland, which was the world's first theatre production to take place in the airside and landside areas of a working airport; and Night Flight, for Muztheater, staged in an aircraft hangar in Den Helder Airport, the Netherlands. Recent freelance work includes The Tailor of Inverness for Dogstar at the Edinburgh Festival (winner of 3 awards) and Bint Jbeil (work-in-progress for the National Theatre of Scotland).
For Grid Iron he has directed Tryst (Stavanger 2008); Yarn (with Dundee Rep); Once Upon A Dragon; Roam (winner of five awards including the Best Production Award from the Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland); The Devil's Larder (winner of four awards including the Herald Archangel, Total Theatre and Scotsman Fringe First Awards 2005); The Story of the Death of Najib Brax (British Council project in Beirut); Naw Nader Men Al Houb (Grid Iron and Takween (Jordan) co-production with the British Council); Those Eyes, That Mouth (winner of seven awards); Variety; Fermentation; Decky Does A Bronco (Scotsman Fringe First Award 2000), Monumental, Gargantua, (Fringe First Award); The Bloody Chamber (Herald Angel Award) and Clearance.
For Muztheater he has directed Aan de Zaan 01, Spaanse Schans, Night Flight, Romeo Delta and the current work-in-progress Kop vol Spijkers.
From 2000-2002 he was an Associate Director of the Almeida Theatre in London where he created the acclaimed Participatory Projects programme. His productions included Caledonian Road, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, The Whizzkid, Decky Does A Bronco (UK tour co-produced with Grid Iron); Ghost Ward, The Last Valentine and Into Our Dreams.
He has taught site-responsive theatre in Lebanon, Jordan, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Scotland and England.
Latest News
December 2008
Ben starts workshops, together with co-director Jemima Levick, for the NTS Transform Fife project to be staged in the former Dunlop tyre factory in Dunfermline in March 2009
November
Ben teaches a course in writing for younger audiences at the Arvon Foundation at Totleigh Barton with Pauline Mol and Rina Vergano
October
Tryst is installed in Engoyholmen boatyard in Stavanger, where it plays for 2 weeks to enthusiastic audiences and warm reviews from both the Norwegian and Scottish press.
September
Ben rehearses for Tryst, a commission from Stavanger 2008, in Edinburgh.
August
The Tailor of Inverness is a smash-hit at the Edinburgh Fringe, garnering a range of 4 and 5 star reviews from the national press. It wins 3 awards: The Scotsman Fringe First, the Stage Award for Outstanding Solo Performance and the inaugural Holden Street Theatres Award which supports a transfer to the Adelaide Fringe in February 2009.
July
Ben rehearses the Tailor of Inverness for Dogstar, previewing at the Arches Theatre.
June
Ben presents the work-in-progress performances of Bint Jbeil by Saseen Kawzally, co-directed with Saseen Kawzally, with an outstanding Lebanese cast, who rehearse for 3 weeks in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The performances were very warmly received and the show is currently in the planning stage for full production.