Crude

Photo by: The Photographer

Muster Station: Leith

The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar

South Bend

Ben Harrison

Ben is Co-Artistic Director of Scottish theatre company Grid Iron.

He also works all over the world as a freelance director.

Recent work includes Muster Station: Leith for Grid Iron / Edinburgh International Festival and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar for Helen Milne Productions / Perth Theatre / Roald Dahl Story Company. The Tailor of Inverness which he directed for Dogstar in 2008 completed its eighth tour in Spring 2019 where it approached its 300th performance. His production of Peter Pan for 360 Entertainment toured the US for two years from 2010, visiting San Francisco, Costa Mesa, Atlanta, Chicago and Boston (www.peterpantheshow.com), and was revived in 2015. It has been seen by over a million people and will shortly be revived in Australia.

For Grid Iron he has also directed Doppler, Strange Tales, The Brunch Club, South Bend, Jury Play, Crude, The Devil’s Larder (2015 revival), Letters Home, The Authorised Kate Bane, What Remains, Spring Awakening, Decky Does A Bronco, Huxley’s Lab (winner of the 2010 CATS award for Best Ensemble), Barflies, Tryst, 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, Monumental, Gargantua, (Fringe First Award), The Bloody Chamber (Herald Angel Award) and Clearance.

For Muztheater, based in Zaandam, The Netherlands, for whom he was director from 2004-2007, he has directed Aan de Zaan 01, Spaanse Schans, Night Flight, Romeo Delta and 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 Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Scotland and England. He frequently mentors younger theatre makers and was mentor on the Arches Platform 18 programme for three years. He currently mentors for EPAD.