David Benson - actor, writer, singer, director

PHOTO: Daniel Polak

First review 13-7-09

A few years back, I was contacted via myspace by a chap named Clayton Littlewood. He told me that he had seen Think No Evil of Us back in 1998 at The Vaudeville Theatre, had loved it and wondered if I might like to meet sometime for a coffee and a chat. We met a few days later and he has been a dear friend ever since.

At that time, Clayton was running, with his partner Jorge, a small clothes shop called Dirty White Boy on the corner of Old Compton Street and Dean Street in Soho. He told me that he had started writing an almost-daily 'blog' on myspace all about the fascinating array of characters who regularly visited the shop, mostly without making purchases alas.

Clayton's blogs attracted a wide readership online and were last year published as Dirty White Boy: Tales of Soho (within hours of the book being published Clayton was astonished to receive a call on his mobile from none other then Elton John to say he had read it in one sitting and ordered it for all his friends!). Some of the episodes were published in a weekly column in The London Paper. When Clayton was asked by BBC Radio London to talk about and read from the blogs he asked me to come on with him to give voice to some of the characters - by a bizarre co-incidence I was booked onto the same show to talk about something else; myself, I think. We made three appearances, and were thrown off the air TWICE by hostess Tessa Dunlop. (To hear two of the recordings, click here) BBC London are notoriously tight about what can be said on their frequency and certain words in the readings sparked their 'eject guest' protocols.

Undaunted, Clayton and I proceeded with a series of dramatised readings to promote the book (part of the first one we did can be seen here). We have longed planned a stage show based on some of the characters and incidents featured in the book, with Clayton as himself and me playing all the different characters.

Now we are racing towards a first stab at presenting the play Clayton has adapted from his book: each Friday at 9.30pm in July, we will be performing the first version of new show at the prestigious Trafalgar Studios, just off Trafalgar Square.

I do hope you can make it along to a performance of this exciting and moving show, which I am honoured to associated with.

For more info on the show plus ticket information click here