SPOTLIGHT ON... BENJAMIN PEEL
- theatrereviews
- Feb 26
- 5 min read
This week, we interviewed playwright Benjamin Peel...
Q. Where in Lincolnshire are you based, and what was your first ever live performance that you participated in?
"I live in Skegness and after I finished a one year post graduate diploma in stage management at Guildford School of Acting I took advantage of there being a free place on a four week summer school course in acting. We performed a cut down version of 'Macbeth' taking it in turns to play the title role and Lady Macbeth. I enjoyed it but decided that acting wasn’t for me and worked in stage management for a few years including some stints on 'Emmerdale'. Stage management are often the unsung heroes of live performance anyway with the amount of work they put in and it is just as exciting working backstage as in front of the curtain."
Q. What was your first produced piece of writing? Was it a theatrical piece or something that was published?
"My first produced piece of writing was my play 'Not a Game for Girls' about a women’s football team that formed in Preston during WW1. It was performed in York by Off the Rock Productions and has gone on to have had four subsequent productions. It was published by Oberon Books in 2018 who are now part of Bloomsbury Publishing. It’s been really rewarding to watch how each individual production has interpreted it so differently and how it has resonated with cast, crew and audiences."
Q. Quite simply, give me three words that describe what writing means to you.
"Rewarding, Exciting, Research."
Q. I see, via the website that you've also written across many mediums. Is there one medium you prefer? Or does it defer on a project-by-project basis? And how do you find collaborating with actors and/or directors/producers on your work?
"I think I probably prefer theatre as I’ve been going from an early age and nothing beats the thrill of a live performance where so many elements come together to produce something that is never quite the same from one show to another. But I also think that it depends on the project and what medium it seems best suited to. I do also really like audio/radio and during a lockdown taught myself an editing programme so I could write and produce short audio dramas. What excites me about that is that a drama can be set almost anywhere and anytime plus it is the listeners imagination that creates their own unique visuals. I’ve always been a big believer in collaboration across the board because as I’ve said so many elements come into play to create a piece of theatre, a radio show or film. During the second production of 'Not a Game of Girls' at Guildford School of Acting, interestingly, the director kindly invited me to spend a couple of days in rehearsals and they workshopped some scenes she felt needed further work. As a result the play was improved and accepted for publication at the second time of asking."
Q. What do you think Lincolnshire, as an arts scene, does very well?
"Despite being a large county there are lots of groups and theatres doing sterling work in promoting the arts such as Magna Vitae in East Lindsey with the annual SO Festival and now the Embassy Centre is having a major overhaul. Then there are small theatres dotted around such as Blackfriars in Boston where I saw Seth Lakeman perform his album 'A Pilgrim’s Tale' about the Pilgrim Fathers. There are theatre companies based in Lincolnshire creating shows to tour around both locally and further afield. There are also companies keen to promote Lincolnshire as a filming destination and there are lots of great locations for that."
Q. What do think the Lincolnshire arts scene could really do with?
"I think more could be done to champion local talent which I think we have in abundance. Skegness and Mablethorpe have the annual SO Festival in the summer which has some wonderful national and international shows. However maybe there is scope for a smaller festival in the winter months which utilises professional and amateur groups based in the county to showcase what can be produced locally."
Q. When writing, do you envisage specific actors/people you know reading those roles?
"No that’s not really something I’ve ever done as individual actors bring their own unique interpretations to a role as shown in the five productions of my football play. Once written though I can then envisage certain actors being good for those roles but unless it’s an audio drama I’m producing myself I rarely get asked my opinion as to who I think would be good. There was an exception though with my upcoming audio drama 'Floodland' as I was kindly asked to suggest actors I thought would fit the roles."
Q. What is your approach to writing? Do you have an idea and then plan meticulously, or do you simply grab a pen and paper and 'go with the flow'?
"It depends on the project as some require quite a bit of research such as the football play and some other ones I’ve written that are based on or inspired by historical events. I do then plot it out to some degree. Having said that the research does need to be almost forgotten to some extent as it is a drama that is being written about how events affected people rather than a documentary. Quite a lot of the time though I do just sit in front of the keyboard and see where something takes me."
Q. What creative work is on the horizon for you?
"I recently put together an anthology play 'The Three Stages of Monica' which is being/was performed in Liverpool on 22 February in a festival of new writing called Weird and Wonderful. Plus as mentioned 'Floodland' is due for release this year as part of an upcoming speculative sci-fi anthology produced by Kobold Blue. I have got other ideas I am working on such as a radio drama about an actress turned private detective at the beginning of the 20thC which is inspired by real life women."
Q. What's been your favourite production you've seen/listened to that you worked on?
"I think I have to come back to 'Not a Game for Girls' as it’s been my most successful piece of writing to date and I’ve loved every single one of it’s five productions which after the second one I have had nothing to do with. That is how it should be too as it’s now down to the directors, actors and other creatives to bring it to life as they want to. With the Women’s Euros coming up this summer hopefully it might receive a sixth production. It’s not had one in Lincolnshire so if there are any companies out there interested the rights are most definitely available!"
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