Ben Norris (born 1991 or 1992,[1] Nottingham) is a British poet, playwright and actor.[2][3]

Early life and education

Norris was born and grew up in Nottingham.[4] He performed with the British Youth Music Theatre in Mort in 2007/2008 and According to Brian Haw in 2009.[5] He studied for a BA in English and creative writing at the University of Birmingham[6] and then trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.[7]

Career

In 2015 he performed a one-man show The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Family at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, based on his relationship with his father and his experience of hitchhiking around the UK to visit places where his father had lived.[1] He subsequently toured this show in the UK and elsewhere including Adelaide, Australia.[8][4][9]

He won the UK All-Stars Poetry Slam at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2013[6] and the BBC Edinburgh Fringe Poetry Slam 2017[10] and has published two pamphlets of poems, second being Some ending (2019).[11]

Since October 2018 he has played Ben Archer in the long-running BBC Radio 4 series The Archers.[12][13]

He wrote the monologues for the show The Choir of Man[14] and appeared as The Poet in its West End production at the Arts Theatre from November 2021,[15][16] having taken the role of The Narrator in the original 2020 production.[17]

In 2016 he was writer-in-residence at Theatr Clwyd,[18] and in 2018 was poet-in-residence at the Inspire Poetry Festival in Nottingham.[19]

From 2019 to 2021 he was a creative associate at Nottingham Playhouse.[20]

In 2019 he wrote, created and directed Track Record, a spoken poem celebrating the accents of people living along the line of the LNER railway, fronted by Scottish DJ Edith Bowman.[21][22][23]

In January 2022 he appeared as a guest on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live and discussed his life and career.[24]

Selected publications

  • Norris, Ben (2019). Some Ending. Verve. ISBN 9781912565214.

References

  1. 1 2 Khaleeli, Homa (1 August 2015). "On the road in search of Dad". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "Ben Norris". Verve Poetry Press. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  3. ↑ Nead, Sam (12 May 2018). "Interview with Ben Norris". Voice Magazine. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Open Letter From Ben Norris About The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Family In Adelaide". scenestr - Pop Culture & Entertainment. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Ben Norris". Our People. British Youth Music Theatre. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 "English student wins poetry slam". University of Birmingham. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Ben Norris". Independent Talent. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Cook, Craig (26 February 2018). "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Family". The Advertiser. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  9. ↑ Ballands, James (28 September 2016). "Theatre review: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Family at York Theatre Royal". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  10. ↑ "BBC Arts - BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals - The Poetry Slam returns". BBC. 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Ben Norris — 'Some Ending'". www.sphinxreview.co.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - The Archers - 4 Things you'll want to know about the new Ben Archer". BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - The Archers, Ben and Ruairi get caught". BBC. 28 October 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "The Choir of Man full West End cast has been announced!". London Theatre Direct. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  15. ↑ "The Choir of Man review – testosterone on tap". The Guardian. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "Ben Norris". Choir of Man West End. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  17. ↑ "Ben Norris". The Choir of Man. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  18. ↑ "Writers in Residence". Theatr Clwyd. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  19. ↑ "Books are Moving – a poem by Ben Norris commissioned by Inspire". www.inspireculture.org.uk. Inspire - Culture, Learning, Libraries. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  20. ↑ "Creative Associates Alumni". Nottingham Playhouse. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  21. ↑ "LNER launches bid to protect regional accents as people admit they can't tell them apart". www.sunderlandecho.com. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  22. ↑ "Celebrating the Geordie accent with LNER's Track Record". Nomipalony. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  23. ↑ LNER #TrackRecord, retrieved 5 January 2023
  24. ↑ "Saturday Live". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sounds. 15 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022. Norris appears from 44:15


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