A unique portrait featuring archive clips and extracts from the diaries of Kenneth Williams.
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First broadcast on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 in November 2003, The Private World of Kenneth Williams is a documentary portrait of the much-loved comedy actor who passed away in 1988.
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In the series David Benson, who won acclaim for his one-man show in which he portrayed Kenneth Williams, reads extracts from Williams' diaries, whilst archive clips from such programmes as Round the Horne and Beyond Our Ken show the madcap versatility of the performer. There are also archive interviews with Michael Parkinson and Joan Rivers plus Williams' final recorded performance on Just a Minute.
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Whether he was a sad self-obsessed man or a tortured comic genius, Williams had a unique talent. Yet his hugely successful career in theatre, film radio and television often seems at odds with his stated loathing of himself, his work and those around him.
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Benson's portrayal of this sensitive and secretive man reveals Williams' predictable poisonous lows as well as his lesser-known emotional highs. With even more readings and clips than originally transmitted, this portrait of the comedy icon succeeds in making a very private world a little more public.
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David Benson Biography
David Benson first embarked on a career as an actor in Edinburgh in 1990, where he worked with director Jeremy Weller of the Grassmarket Project Theatre Company, on a series of award winning, explosive, semi-documentary dramas.
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In 1996, David's first one-man show, Think No Evil of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams, was premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and went on to win a Scotsman Fringe First Award. The show was an instant hit with audiences and critics alike and, as a result, was picked up by G & J Productions who sent the show on a national tour ending with a run in the West End in 1998.
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Since then David has written and performed in three more one-man shows, Nothing But Pleasure (later re-titled Mourning Glory), which is about the death and funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, To Be Frank, based on the life of another camp comedian Frankie Howerd, and Star Struck, his most recent show, in which he portrays the all-star guest list at a disastrous party given by Noel Coward.
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He is currently working on his fifth show for the Edinburgh Fringe, under the working title N.W.O. - or Why I Believe All Conspiracy Theories Whether They Are True or Not.
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David has starred in the TV shows Goodnight Sweetheart and Reputations, has contributed to Radio 4's Ruth Draper and her Company of Characters and The Private World of Kenneth Williams and is the co-deviser and director of All The Rage, the first solo stage show from the legendary Janet Street Porter.
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Title: The Private World of Kenneth Williams
Release date: 5.04.04
ISBN: 0563 52935 0 (cass), 0563 52936 9 (CD)
Duration: 2 hrs 5 mins
RRP: Β£10.99 (CASS), Β£12.99 (CD)
Printable version
