Dramaturgy
“There are very few people who are integral to who you become as an artist, integral to how you create, and what you make.
Ben is integral to how I work and has been since we met. I don’t think that 1927 would have had the success we’ve had without him”
Suzanne Andrade, Co-Artistic Director, 1927
Ben is an established dramaturg, and has worked to support a wide range of experienced and emergent artists at all stages in the theatre-making process.
1927’s Golem (2014)
Photo credit: Bernhard Mueller
He has supported individual writers and directors working within orthodox theatre structures, as well as individual and collective performance makers and devisers, working on narrative-based drama, contemporary performance and live art, as well as performance-based encounters outside formal theatre structures.
Ben is a long-standing associate of 1927, and, additionally, in recent years, has worked with Abigail Conway, Holly Spillar, The Paper Birds, Two Destination Language, and Search Party Performance.
“As a dramaturg and collaborator, Ben has been able to help me further contextualise and frame ideas. He has guided me through research, provided structural support (which in my case has been usually, unconventional) and facilitated and encouraged the risk taking aspects of my work.
“When you collaborate with Ben you feel anything is possible. He is caring, creative and critical whilst always respecting the vision. He listens and asks the right questions at the right time and after bending your mind (in the wholesome way any good dramaturg can do) he will most definitely make you feel sharper, stronger and more confident in your convictions and ability to create the work you want to make.
“It has been invaluable as an independent artist to have someone I can trust, to show me things that I am unable to see when working so closely to the material, and to provide tools to help navigate through ideas. Ben is someone who I will always want on side - as a critical eye, advocate and friend and ally of experimental work”.
Abigail Conway, Artist and Academic
2024/25 Tall Child Holly Spillar (Funding pending)
2023/24 Please Right Back (English version of Mehr Als Alles Auf Der Welt) 1927 Theatre Company (Gulbenkian Theatre Kent, Edinburgh International Festival 2024)
2023 The Man with a Plan 1927 Theatre Company (in association with Sands Films)
2023 //RIDE, Abigail Conway (ACCA, Brighton)
2023 Feel Me, Paper Birds, (New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich)
2022/23 Hole, Holly Spillar (Edinburgh Fringe, Soho Theatre, Brightmouth Productions)
2021/22 Mehr Als Alles Auf Der Welt, 1927 Theatre Company (Co-production, Bergtheater, Vienna – Premiere: October 2022)
2019 Roots, 1927 Theatre Company (Edinburgh International Festival, HOME, Theatre de la Ville Paris)
2016 Manpower, Two Destination Language (revised version) (ICIA Bath, Salisbury Arts Centre, National tour)
2015 My Son and Heir, Search Party (Cambridge Junction, CPT, Mayfest Bristol)
2014 Golem, 1927 Theatre Company (Salzburg Festival, Young Vic, Théâtre de la Ville Paris)
2013 On the One Hand, Paper Birds, (Live Theatre Newcastle, Unity Theatre Liverpool, and West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds)
2011 Save Me: A Conversation across a City, Search Party, (Mayfest, Bristol)
2010 Others, Paper Birds, (Edinburgh Festival)
2010 Growing Old with You, Search Party. (Forest Fringe, Bristol Old Vic)
2010 The Animals and Children took to the Street, 1927 Theatre Company (Royal National Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, University of Chichester, World Tour)
Key Dramaturgy Work
Holly Spillar in Hole (2023)
Photo credit: Mikel Iriarte
“Having Ben as a dramaturg is like having a secret weapon! His ability to understand both me as an artist and my project before I even knew what either of those things looked like has been the key to my progression as a writer/performer in the last 5 years. Ben is kind, incredibly patient, invested in the work: working with him is a joy and I feel very lucky to have had that privilege at the start of my career”.
Holly Spillar, Independent Artist
Holly and Ben - Edinburgh Fringe
Dramaturgy or Cider-drinking?
Why a dramaturg….
‘Ben is our dramaturg – whatever THAT is….!’ (recent collaborator, who shall remain nameless…)
A dramaturg’s role can often be ill-defined in the creative process, crossing-over (and collapsing) demarked roles to push boundaries, critical thinking and creative ambition. As such it is seen, increasingly, as a vital one for artists committed to independent processes and original thinking: at times, central to the process; at others, detached and critical, the dramaturg can offer perspective, focus, structure, editing, critical thinking and research, supportive-writing, enthusiasm and encouragement, political, ethic and cultural drive, confidence….
Crucially, as a dramaturg, Ben does not think of himself as an artist, avoiding the actual writing or directing processes. The role is a responsive one: listening, understanding and supporting others through critical questioning, prioritising, framing and structuring at various stages in a project.
Additionally, Ben has found his dramaturgical duties to include dog-walking, child-minding and food prep for twenty people. He’s okay with all that, too…
He is available for consultation during research, development and conceptual thinking; early drafting and framing; revising and reviewing in rehearsal; and, importantly, revision and evaluation of focus for existing work.
As part of his dramaturgy work, Ben has written programme notes, both for the artists, and for venues, including the National Theatre and the Young Vic.
“As dramaturg Ben was pivotal to 1927’s ‘The animals and children took to the streets’ ‘Golem’, ‘Roots’ and, most recently, ‘Please right back’
He appreciates how different people work and constantly seeks narrative, character and depth in the work, teasing out the politics and the story throughout the creative process.
From the earliest discussions, cups of tea and vague ideas, to making crucial changes at previews (…and often brutal, painful, but necessary cuts!) his presence in the process is essential, always special, and sometimes a pain in the arse.
We wouldn’t make a show without Ben”.
Suzanne Andrade, Co-Artistic Director, 1927
Ben and Suzanne - Primrose Hill: Dramaturgy or Picnicing?
“Working with Ben helped us challenge our assumptions about what our work was and ought to be. He was able to take a robust approach to framing the issues we wanted to tackle, and help us unpack the content we wanted to include. Offering a variety of possibilities helped free our creativity, so we could select the most fertile ideas to develop. Then, in a later stage of our process, Ben's knowledge and understanding of theatricality and performativity allowed him to offer feedback which helped us shape the style of the performance. Throughout, a mutual respect ensured that what can be delicate rehearsal room egos were kept enthusiastically engaged in the work's development.”