Ben back to his; Writer's nostalgia for Midlands.Byline: ROZ LAWS HE now writes record-breaking musicals with Queen, Rod Stewart and Lord Lloyd Webber Lloyd Web·ber , Sir Andrew Born 1948. British composer. His many popularly successful musicals include Jesus Christ Superstar (1971), Evita (1976), and The Phantom of the Opera (1986). Noun 1. . But Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May1959) is an English comedian, writer and director. Born in Catford, London, he is the son of the physicist and educational researcher Lewis Elton and the nephew of the historian Sir G R Elton. has revealed how his theatrical career began in the Midlands when he was just a teenager - with a musical about prostitutes. The comic was just 16 and living in a caravan in Stratford-upon-Avon, studying for an A-level in drama, when he wrote his very first show. He penned the words and a fellow student called Roger Fayle composed the music to the production, called The Dancing Silhouette. It was performed for one night only in 1975 at South Warwickshire College Warwickshire College is a large further and higher education college in the county of Warwickshire in England. It has some 30,000 students enrolled on courses across five campuses. - now known as Stratford-upon-Avon College. Ben says: "I was influenced by Bertolt Brecht Noun 1. Bertolt Brecht - German dramatist and poet who developed a style of epic theater (1898-1956) Brecht and wrote about prostitutes and tawdry nightclub hostesses. It was very silly, but I think it went down quite well. "Although my dad said 'What on earth do you know about prostitutes?'. I replied I didn't know anything, but Shakespeare didn't know about murdering people when he wrote Macbeth. "I never expected to become a stand-up comedian, but I always wanted to write a musical. I never understand the snobbery against musicals that people have. My Fair Lady is a great work of art. "Musicals are wonderful uplifting experiences." Ben, 50, was speaking as he prepared to bring his Queen musical We Will Rock You to the Midlands. It is the main summer show at the Birmingham Hippodrome, playing from July 1 to September 5 and starring Jonathan Wilkes, Coronation Street's Kevin Kennedy and X Factor finalist Brenda Edwards. The Cockney Cockney Bow Bells famous bell in East End of London; “only one who is born within the bell’s sound is a true Cockney.” [Br. Hist.: NCE, 347] Doolittle, Eliza Cockney girl taught by professor to imitate aristocracy. comedian directs the show, which he wrote in collaboration with Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor. The story is set 300 years in the future and features Queen hits including Fat Bottomed Girls, It's A Kind Of Magic, Killer Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody. The show has been going for seven years, has sold six million tickets around the world and grossed pounds 100 million. To celebrate its seventh anniversary last week, during a performance Ben came up through a trapdoor A secret way of gaining access to a program or online service. Trapdoors are built into the software by the original programmer as a way of gaining special access to particular functions. on to the London stage alongside Brian May, performing a one-off solo of Bohemian Rhapsody. He said: "It was pretty exciting, fulfilling a fantasy like that and being on stage with a rock supergod. "The Midlands is the home of rock so we're delighted to be bringing the show here. The reason there's been such a delay in coming to Birmingham is that the show continues to do well in London. ''Conventional wisdom is that you wait for shows to close in the West End before going on tour, but we couldn't wait any longer, so we've mounted another fullscale production. "The tour is just as big and impressive as the West End show, and I'm delighted with the cast. It's our strongest ever." CAPTION(S): ROCK ON: Ben Elton with the cast of the Queen musical We Will Rock You. From left: Jonathan Wilkes, Kevin Kennedy, Ben Elton and Brenda Edwards |
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