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Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in
experimental theatre
Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Richard Wagner, Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu Roi, Ubu plays as a rejection of bot ...
. He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre".
Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1970s for his nine-hour adaptation of the science-fiction trilogy ''
Illuminatus!
''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anto ...
'' and his 22-hour staging of
Neil Oram
Neil R. G. Oram is a British musician, poet, artist and playwright. He is known for his 10-play cycle, ''The Warp'', directed by Ken Campbell.
Soho, jazz, art and poetry career
In Africa, Oram met musician Michael Gibbs (composer), Mike G ...
's play cycle ''
The Warp''. The ''
Guinness Book of Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' listed the latter as the longest play in the world.
''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' said that, "In the 1990s, through a series of sprawling monologues packed with arcane information and freakish speculations on the nature of reality, he became something approaching a grand old man of the fringe, though without ever discarding his inner enfant terrible." ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' labelled Campbell a one-man whirlwind of comic and surreal performance.
Michael Coveney
Michael Coveney (born 24 July 1948) is a British theatre critic.
Education and career
Coveney was born in London and educated at St Ignatius’ College, Stamford Hill, and Worcester College, Oxford.
After graduation, he worked as a script re ...
, in an obituary in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', described him as "one of the most original and unclassifiable talents in the British theatre of the past half-century. A genius at producing shows on a shoestring and honing the improvisational capabilities of the actors who were brave enough to work with him." The artistic director of the
Liverpool Everyman
The Everyman Theatre stands at the north end of Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It was founded in 1964, in Hope Hall (once a chapel, then a cinema), in an area of Liverpool noted for its bohemian environment and political edge, a ...
and
Playhouse said, "He was the door through which many hundreds of kindred souls entered a madder, braver, brighter, funnier and more complex universe."
Early life and career
Campbell was born in
Ilford,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
, the son of Elsie (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Handley) and Anthony Colin Campbell, who was a telegrapher. He staged his first performances in the bathroom of his childhood home: "I was three years old and helped by my invisible friend, Peter Jelp, I put on shows for the characters in the linoleum."
He was educated at
Chigwell School
Chigwell School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition located in Chigwell, in the Epping Forest (district), Epping Forest district of Essex. It consists of ...
(where he won the Drama prize) and then studied at
RADA
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
before joining
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
Repertory theatre
A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.
United Kingdom
Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...
as an
understudy
In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...
to
Warren Mitchell
Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was a British actor. He was a BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner.
In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared on the radio programmes ''Educatin ...
. In 1967 he became resident dramatist and acting company member at the
Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent
The New Vic Theatre is a purpose-built theatre in the round in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The theatre opened in 1986, replacing a converted cinema, the Victoria Theatre in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent.
History
In the early 1960s, Steph ...
. He soon began writing and directing his own productions, including working with director
Lindsay Anderson
Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for h ...
. After seeing the American
Living Theatre
The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/po ...
at
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, ...
in 1969 he was inspired to found The Ken Campbell Roadshow, a small theatre group that performed in unconventional venues such as
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s. Members included
Bob Hoskins
Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor. His work included lead roles in films and television series such as '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who ...
,
Bernard Wrigley
Bernard Wrigley (born 25 February 1948 in Bolton, Lancashire, England) is an English singer, actor and comedian. He is sometimes known by the nickname "The Bolton Bullfrog".
Wrigley's career as a singer and storyteller began in the late 1960s, ...
, Jane Wood,
Dave Hill
David John Hill (born 4 April 1946) is an English rock musician. He is the lead guitarist, a backing vocalist and the sole continuous member in the English band Slade. Hill is known for his flamboyant stage clothes and hairstyle.
Early life
B ...
and
Sylvester McCoy
Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the lon ...
. Campbell was invited by
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
to appear with his Roadshow team in the first ''
Secret Policeman's Ball'' in June 1979.
Theatre director and playwright
In 1976, he and
Chris Langham
Christopher Langham (born 14 April 1949) is an English writer, actor, and comedian. He is known for playing the cabinet minister Hugh Abbot in the BBC sitcom '' The Thick of It'', and as presenter Roy Mallard in '' People Like Us'', first on B ...
formed the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool in order to stage ''
Illuminatus'', a nine-hour cycle of five plays by himself and Langham based on the cult trilogy of avowedly
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
science fantasy novels of the same name by
Robert Shea
Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy ''Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turned ...
and
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...
. Starring Campbell and Langham themselves, the production featured Neil Cunningham,
David Rappaport
David Stephen Rappaport (23 November 1951 – 2 May 1990) was an English actor with achondroplasia. He appeared in the films ''Time Bandits'' and '' The Bride'', and television series ''L.A. Law'', ''The Wizard'' and ''Captain Planet and the Pl ...
,
Jim Broadbent
James Broadbent (born 24 May 1949) is an English actor. He won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role as John Bayley in the feature film ''Iris'' (2001), as well as winning a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe for hi ...
,
Bill Nighy
William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy, The Illuminatu ...
and Campbell's future wife
Prunella Gee
Prunella Mary Gee (born 17 February 1950) is an English counsellor, therapist and former actress, best known for her work as an actress in the 1970s and 1980s, and for the role of Doreen Heavey in ''Coronation Street'', a part she first played in ...
. It later moved to the
National Theatre, where it opened the new Cottesloe Theatre in 1977.
Sir Peter Hall, director of the National at the time, writes of Campbell in his ''Diaries'', "He is a total anarchist and impossible to pin down. He more or less said it was a crime to be serious."
''The Warp'', based on the real life experiences and adventures of author Neil Oram, is a dizzying trek through the nether reaches of gurudom and tireless post-sixties mind-expansion, directed by Ken Campbell, and opened at London's
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...
in January 1979. It was spawned by the encounter between Oram and Campbell after Oram gave his acclaimed performance as raconteur at the ICA. Campbell commissioned the cycle of ten plays after hearing Oram. The cycle's inordinate length when (as was intended to be possible) it is played together, 22 hours, rendered the 9-hour ''Illuminatus!'' a mere bagatelle by comparison. For the first two weeks the performances were of one play per night, after which the impetus for a marathon performance, a real challenge to actors and audience, became irresistible. The success of this remarkable effort by all concerned led to three full marathon performances at the ICA. Five marathon performances followed at the Roundhouse in London in November 1979 also directed by Ken. Probably the most remarkable, and in terms of the ethos of the author and the work, the most attractive event in this episode was the five marathons that were performed, against the wishes of an army of local officialdom, during a
squat of the Regent Theatre in Edinburgh during the Festival of 1979. The Scottish audiences were as enthusiastic as the London crowd. After one performance at Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, a further performance was given at Liverpool Everyman Theatre in a ten-week run from 29 September – 6 December 1980. Cult status was established giving some credence to the publicity material - "The world may soon divide into those who have been through THE WARP and those who have not" More recently the cycle was revived in the 1990s in a production directed by Campbell's daughter Daisy.
In May 1979, again at the ICA, the company presented the first stage version of ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comic science fiction, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally The Hitchhiker's Guide to th ...
''. One eye-popping aspect of the production was that for each set change the entire audience was wafted 1/2000th-of-an-inch above the floor aboard an industrial
hovercraft
A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces.
Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...
. The cast cavorted on various ledges and platforms. The craft's carrying capacity meant that audiences were limited to a maximum of eighty each night. Langham was
Arthur Dent
Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams.
In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played by ...
,
Richard Hope as
Ford Prefect
The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the Ford Popular and Ford Anglia small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until 19 ...
and narration of The Book was split between two
usherettes. The problem of how to portray
Zaphod Beeblebrox
Zaphod Beeblebrox () is a fictional character in the various versions of the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams.
He is from a planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and is a "semi-half-cousin" ...
, the Betelgeusian blessed with three arms and two heads - not an issue in the
original radio series - was assailed in typical Campbell fashion by simply (or not so simply) putting two actors inside one large costume.
Audience-carrying capacity was not a problem at London's vast
Rainbow Theatre
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as a cinema. It later became a music venue. Today, the building is used by the Universa ...
where Campbell mounted a yet more grandiose version of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide'' in July 1980. The venue had been renovated in the 1970s to take
rock opera
A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...
s. Some reviewers, who in general did not greet the show favourably, labelled it a musical, since it now came with incidental music and audacious laser effects. It ran for over three hours, despite attempts to shorten the script, and was forced to close some four weeks early, losing a lot of money in the process.
For a year, 1980–1981, Campbell was artistic director of the Liverpool
Everyman Theatre. From 1984, he made repeated efforts to adapt for the stage ''
VALIS
''Valis'' (stylized as ''VALIS'') is a 1981 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick, intended to be the first book of a three-part series. The title is an acronym for ''Vast Active Living Intelligence System'', Dick's gnostic vis ...
'', the largely autobiographical cult science fiction novel by
Philip K. Dick, but to the disappointment of fans, these efforts came to nothing.
Television, radio and film
Campbell played Alex Gladwell, a corrupt lawyer, in one of the TV events of the 1970s,
''Law & Order'', the notorious but ground-breaking corruption drama by
G.F. Newman
Gordon Frank Newman (born 22 May 1947) is an English writer and television producer. In addition to his two earlier series ''Law & Order'' and ''The Nation's Health'', each based on his books, he is known for more recent TV series including ''Jud ...
, a luminary of British TV screenwriting. The series provoked such a press outcry at the time that the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
banned its overseas sale, since it was deemed to have portrayed Britain's police and criminal justice system in such a wholly unfavourable light.
He played
Alf Garnett
Alfred Edward "Alf" Garnett is a fictional character from the British sitcom '' Till Death Us Do Part'' and its follow-on and spin-off series '' Till Death...'' and ''In Sickness and in Health''. He also appeared in the chat show ''The Thoughts ...
's neighbour, Fred Johnson in the series of the 1980s sitcom ''
In Sickness and in Health
''In Sickness and in Health'' is a BBC television sitcom that ran between 1 September 1985 and 3 April 1992. It is a sequel to the successful '' Till Death Us Do Part'', which ran between 1966 and 1975, and '' Till Death...'', which ran for on ...
'', which had the effect of cementing his career-long friendship with Warren Mitchell. He was memorable in
Jack Pulman
Jack Pulman (11 July 1925 – 20 May 1979) was an award-winning British television screenwriter, most famous for the critically acclaimed 1976 BBC television series, ''I, Claudius'', based on the novels ''I, Claudius'' and ''Claudius the God'' ...
's 1981 television series
Private Schulz
''Private Schulz'' is a 1981 BBC television comedy drama serial set mostly in Germany, during and immediately after World War II. It stars Michael Elphick in the title role and Ian Richardson playing various parts. Other notable actors included ...
as the acerbic Herr Krauss, an underwear factory owner hoping the war would continue so as not to jeopardise his contracts with the German army.
Campbell in 1987 unsuccessfully auditioned for the part of the
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy.
W ...
in ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. He was beaten to the role by his old protégé Sylvester McCoy, but an independently written and produced episode, "The Lost Doctor", features the voice of Ken Campbell. The then
script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wi ...
,
Andrew Cartmel
Andrew J. Cartmel (born 6 April 1958) is a British author and journalist. He was the script editor of '' Doctor Who'' during the Sylvester McCoy era of the show between 1987 and 1989. He has also worked as a script editor on other television ser ...
, later revealed that Campbell's interpretation had been considered "too dark" to put on television. Other roles included the children's programme "Erasmus Microman" on ITV from 1988 to 1989 being a mad scientist. He also played Roger in "
The Anniversary
The Anniversary is an American band formed in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1997 by Josh Berwanger, James David, Christian Jankowski, Adrianne Verhoeven and Justin Roelofs. The Anniversary was the solidification of a line-up that had been in flux for a ...
" episode of ''
Fawlty Towers
''Fawlty Towers'' is a British television sitcom written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Two series of six episodes each were made. The show was ranked first on a list of the 100 Greatest British Television ...
'',
buck-toothed blackmailer Ted Goat in ''Lovejoy Loses It'', a 1993 episode of
Lovejoy
''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery series, based on the novels by John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six series, was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 10 January 19 ...
and a thieving flower-show entrant in ''Say It With Flowers'', a 2004 episode of
Heartbeat.
Campbell's radio career included playing
Poodoo in ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comic science fiction, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally The Hitchhiker's Guide to th ...
'', a part specifically written for him. The
Radio 3 literary programme ''
The Verb
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The stati ...
'' included Campbell as a regular contributor; in such spots as ''Campbell's Book Soup'' he became an upturner of bibliographic rocks, revealing unconsidered trifles to the hilarity of fellow contributors.
His film work included
Derek Jarman
Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist.
Biography
Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...
's ''
The Tempest'' (1979), ''
Breaking Glass'' (1980), ''
Joshua Then and Now
''Joshua Then and Now'' is a Canadian novel written by Mordecai Richler, published in 1980 by McClelland and Stewart. A semi-autobiographical novel, the book is based his life on his neighborhood growing up in Montreal, Quebec, and tells of the l ...
'' (1985), ''
The Bride'' (1985),
Chris Bernard
Chris Bernard (born 20 October 1955) is an English film director. He has directed eight films since 1985.
He was born in Liverpool, England and started his professional career in the theatre. In 1977 he developed an old warehouse, in Matthew S ...
's ''
Letter to Brezhnev
''Letter to Brezhnev'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy film about working-class life in Liverpool, written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It starred Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke, Alfred Molina, Peter Firth and Tracy Marshak-Nas ...
'' (1985),
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are the ...
's ''
A Zed and Two Noughts'' (1985),
Charles Crichton
Charles Ainslie Crichton (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and editor.
Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he became best known for directing many comedies produced at Ealing Studios and had a 40-year career ...
's ''
A Fish Called Wanda
''A Fish Called Wanda'' is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by Crichton and John Cleese. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double- ...
'' (1988), ''
Hard Men
''Hard Men'' is a 1997 British crime gangster black comedy film directed by J. K. Amalou. A forerunner to ''Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels'', it was originally shown at the London Film Festival on 28 October 1996. It was released in cinemas ...
'' (1996), ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
'' (1999), ''
Saving Grace'' (2000) and ''
Creep'' (2004).
In the final years of his life Campbell suddenly found himself cast in a whole new TV role: that of doggedly curious sceptic called upon to probe the outer realms of
particle physics
Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...
and
cognitive science on behalf of the casual viewer, particularly where the science bordered on the
paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
. Campbell's idiosyncratic presentation in ''Brainspotting'', ''Reality On the Rocks'' and ''Six Experiments that Changed the World'', each made for
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
, owed much to the influence of one of his heroes, the American iconoclast
Charles Fort
Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...
. Campbell became a star turn at the annual ''
Fortean Times
''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (2005 to 2 ...
'' convention,
UnCon
''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (2005 to ...
.
Later career and one-man shows
From the late eighties onwards Campbell wrote and performed a series of one-man shows, each a mélange of autobiographical
stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
,
ontological
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
speculation and popular-science rant. They include ''Recollections of a Furtive Nudist'', ''Jamais Vu'', ''Mystery Bruises'' and ''Pigspurt''. Several were published by
Methuen. He toured them worldwide. Three of them were performed together at the National Theatre in 1993, as ''The Bald Trilogy: Furtive Nudist, Jamais Vu and Pigspurt''.
Campbell was later commissioned by the National's director
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas f ...
to write ''The History of Comedy Part One: Ventriloquism''. The two had previously fallen out when Nunn had been director of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1981. Campbell had carefully concocted a press release and a string of personal letters complete with forged signature: Nunn appeared to be announcing that henceforth, as a consequence of the huge success of its recent adaptation of ''
Nicholas Nickleby
''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
'', the Royal Shakespeare Company would be changing its name to the Royal
Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
Company. Several grandees of the English theatre had been taken in by the hoax. Only when an exasperated Nunn called in
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
did Campbell finally own up.
In 1999, Campbell starred with
Warren Mitchell
Warren Mitchell (born Warren Misell; 14 January 1926 – 14 November 2015) was a British actor. He was a BAFTA TV Award winner and twice a Laurence Olivier Award winner.
In the 1950s, Mitchell appeared on the radio programmes ''Educatin ...
and
John Fortune
John Fortune (born John C. Wood; 30 June 1939 – 31 December 2013) was an English satirist, comedian, writer, and actor, best known for his work with John Bird and Rory Bremner on the TV series ''Bremner, Bird and Fortune''.
Early life
Fortu ...
in ''
Art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
'' in London's West End.
In 2001 Campbell staged a version of ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' in
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
English, called Makbed (blong Willum Sekspia). It was the big gun in his campaign to get
Bislama
Bislama (; ; also known by its earlier French name, ) is an English-based creole language and one of the official languages of Vanuatu. It is the first language of many of the "Urban ni-Vanuatu" (citizens who live in Port Vila and Luganville) ...
, first language of 6,000 inhabitants of the
South Pacific islands of
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
, formally adopted as a world language (''wol wantok''). The virtue of Bislama was that with a bit of determination you could pick it up in an afternoon. Campbell argued that, in certain respects, Macbeth in pidgin was better than the original. If nothing else, the campaign had the effect of bringing to a wider public the Bislama for
Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
: ''Nambawan bigfala emi blong Misis Kwin'' ("Number one big fellow him belong Mrs Queen").
With
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
,
Bill Drummond
William Ernest Drummond (born 29 April 1953) is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with wh ...
,
Mixmaster Morris
Mixmaster Morris (born Morris Gould, 30 December 1965) is an English electronica DJ and underground musician who has also recorded as The Irresistible Force. His work in the 1990s blended ambient music and chill-out influences with UK dance ...
and
Coldcut
Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, ...
, he appeared at the
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
in 2007 in a memorial tribute to
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...
, co-author of the Illuminatus! novels.
In July 2008
Staffordshire University
, mottoeng = Dare to know
, type = Public
, endowment = £70 million (2015)
, administrative_staff = 1,375
, chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford
, vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones
, ...
awarded Campbell an
honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
, labelling him one of Staffordshire's "greatest living success stories", a reference to his time as
artist in residence
Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...
in 1967 at
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
's Victoria Theatre.
Campbell appeared on 6 September 2009, over a year after his death, in the first of a new series of
Marple Marple may refer to:
Places
* Marple, Greater Manchester, a town close to Stockport, in England
** Marple Bridge, a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester
** Marple railway station in Marple, Greater Manches ...
on
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. He played Crump; his wife was played by
Wendy Richard
Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the soap ...
.
The School of Night
![The School of Night logo plus seven fraters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/The_School_of_Night_logo_plus_seven_fraters.jpg)
On 23 April 2005, Ken Campbell was asked by
Mark Rylance
Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (born 18 January 1960) is a British actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Laurenc ...
, the artistic director of
Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...
, to stage a celebration of Shakespeare's work. Campbell responded with ''Shall we Shog?'', a show in which actors played competitive improvisational games against each other in the idiom of Shakespeare. These included games like 'flyting' (a tournament of increasingly outrageous insults); an explanation and demonstration of the 'Nub' (a piece of poetic-sounding doggerel an actor uses to give himself a breathing space when he has forgotten his lines - the first sentence should contain the word 'nub' to warn the others that the actor is in trouble, and it should end with the words "Milford Haven"); and fastest recitation of Hamlet's
To be, or not to be
"To be, or not to be" is the opening phrase of a soliloquy given by Prince Hamlet in the so-called "nunnery scene" of William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Act 3, Scene 1. In the speech, Hamlet contemplates death and suicide, weighing the pa ...
soliloquy; among many others.
Campbell continued working with some of the actors from ''Shall We Shog'', shedding and adding more along the way. He presented a series of literary improvisation shows, including a run at
The Royal Court
The Royal Court is a music production team formed by producer Timbaland and Solomon "King" Logan. Their first work was the single "Ice Box" by Omarion from the album '' 21'', co-produced with Timbaland.
Discography 2006 Omarion - '' 21''
*"Ice B ...
called ''Décor Without Production'', in which the cast would create scenes and songs in the styles of poets, playwrights, novelists and songwriters.
In 2006 Campbell worked with
Adam Meggido's theatre company the Sticking Place (now Extempore Theatre) and staged a run of ''In Pursuit of Cardenio'' at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
, during which the cast were supposed to re-create a lost Shakespeare play through improvisational techniques. In practice it turned into a nightly-changing series of literary challenges for the performers. By the latter part of the run, a large section of the show was devoted to improvised songs. One example of the extent to which Campbell pushed the actors was that by the end, each member of cast had developed four musical styles in which they could improvise, each corresponding to a different Elizabethan humour. They would then perform fully sung-through scenes, swapping humours and song styles mid-sentence as the scene or Campbell demanded.
The Cardenio shows used Campbell's now well-established "Goader and Rhapsodes" technique, in which the goader (Campbell) pushed the rhapsodes (the cast) into feats that they would not be able to achieve without the pressure he could apply.
The group eventually consolidated and settled on the name "The School of Night", after
Sir Walter Raleigh's secret society. Raleigh's School of Night (also called The School of Atheism) was a group of highly literate and intellectual men who would meet to discuss forbidden topics. Campbell's take on it was that the group, which included playwrights and poets, were steeped in the art of extemporisation and would create from scratch, in perfect meter, plays and poems.
Campbell's School of Night group has become well known in the improvisational theatre and comedy scene, putting on shows and workshops and appearing in festivals as far afield as Elisnore Castle, the Wiesbaden Summer Improv Festival and the Improvaganza festival in Edmonton, Canada, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; and returning several times to Shakespeare's Globe.
In 2007, the work on singing in various styles of music that Campbell developed also led two of the members of the School of Night—Adam Meggido and Dylan Emery—to develop an improvised musical. The resulting show, which while not directed by Campbell, was enormously influenced by him, became ''
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical
''Showstopper! The Improvised Musical'' is an improvised comedy, musical theatre show founded in London in 2008. It has toured the UK extensively, usually sells out at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every year, had its own BBC Radio 4 series in ...
''. Its first run in Edinburgh was in 2008; it returned in subsequent years and has become something of a fringe institution. The show continues to tour and has had a
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
series. A West End run in 2016 won the
Olivier
Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to:
* Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Olivier (surname), a list of people
* Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery
*Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popul ...
for Best Entertainment and Family.
Campbell performed with 'The Showstoppers' in August 2008 in their second Edinburgh Fringe, reprising his School of Night role as on-stage director of proceedings in the final six shows of the run. For these performances, instead of taking suggestions from the audience regarding the setting and title of the show, Campbell had previously asked a number of professional theatre critics to each write a review of an imaginary musical; after this review was read onstage, the company's task would be to realise the show whose details they had only just heard. Campbell's last performance was on 24 August 2008, one week before he died.
Personal life
Campbell married the actress
Prunella Gee
Prunella Mary Gee (born 17 February 1950) is an English counsellor, therapist and former actress, best known for her work as an actress in the 1970s and 1980s, and for the role of Doreen Heavey in ''Coronation Street'', a part she first played in ...
in 1978, and they had a daughter,
Daisy. They divorced in 1983 but remained close friends.
He was in a relationship with the
ventriloquist
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...
and actress
Nina Conti
Nina Margarita Conti (born 25 August 1973) is a British actress, comedian, and ventriloquist.
Early life
Conti was born and raised in Hampstead, London, the daughter of actors Tom Conti and Kara Wilson. She attended King Alfred School, Londo ...
when she was 26 and he was 59; from him she inherited his collection of ventriloquist dummies.
Campbell lived in
Loughton
Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...
, adjacent to
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...
, in a nineteenth-century Swiss chalet. His funeral, a
woodland burial in
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...
, was attended by mourners with whom he had worked in the theatre.
Filmography
Bibliography
*1972 - ''You See the Thing Is This: A One Act Comedy'' ()
*1972 - ''Old King Cole'' ()
*1975 - ''Skungpoomery'' ()
*1976 - ''Jack Sheppard'' ()
*1991 - ''Recollections of a Furtive Nudist'' ()
*1993 - ''Pigspurt: Or Six Pigs from Happiness'' ()
*1995 - ''The Bald Trilogy'' () - a volume collecting together ''Furtive Nudist'', ''Pigspurt'' and ''Jamais Vu''
*1996 - ''Violin time; or, the Lady from Montségur'' ()
*2000 - ''Wol Wantok'' () - a
pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
English version of
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
*2011 -
Coveney, Michael, ''Ken Campbell: The Great Caper'',
Nick Hern Books
Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988.
History
Nick Hern Books was founded in June 1988,Sar ...
, London ()
*2011 - Merrifield, Jeff, ''Seeker! Ken Campbell: His Five Amazing Lives'', Playback Publications, Shetland ()
Legacy
Many contemporary performers cite Ken Campbell as an influence early in their careers, including
Richard Herring
Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...
,
Nina Conti
Nina Margarita Conti (born 25 August 1973) is a British actress, comedian, and ventriloquist.
Early life
Conti was born and raised in Hampstead, London, the daughter of actors Tom Conti and Kara Wilson. She attended King Alfred School, Londo ...
,
Cariad Lloyd
Katie Cariad Lloyd (born 21 August 1982) is a British comedian, actress, writer, and podcaster who has been performing since 2007. She is a member of the improvisational comedy group Austentatious, the host and creator of '' Griefcast'', and ...
,
Diane Morgan
Diane Morgan (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress, comedian, television presenter, and writer. She is best known for playing Philomena Cunk on Charlie Brooker's ''Weekly Wipe'' and in other mockumentaries, as Liz in the BBC Two sitcom '' ...
and
Michael Brunström.
British Comedy Guide - First Gig, Worst Gig - Michael Brunström
/ref>
References
External links
Campbell on BBC Radio 3, on the Library of the Peculiar
& Jeremy Beadle
Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE (12 April 1948 – 30 January 2008) was an English television presenter, radio presenter, writer and producer. During the 1980s he was a regular face on British television, and in two years appeared i ...
Jeff Merrifield on putting Illuminatus! on stage
Recording of performance in Manchester of The Captain sequence from ''Pigspurt'', December 1992
*
Interviews
2004 recording of Campbell on the origins of Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool
Obituaries
* ttps://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/sep/01/obituary.ken.campbell?gusrc=rss&feed=stage Michael Coveney, ''The Guardian'', 1 September 2008
''The Daily Telegraph'', 1 September 2008
Mark Borkowski, ''Chortle'', UK comedy website, 1 September 2008
* ttp://www.everymanplayhouse.com/news/full-story.asp?Article_ID=546 Gemma Bodinetz, artistic director of the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse
''What's on Stage'' tribute
from Simon McBurney
Simon Montagu McBurney (born 25 August 1957) is an English actor, playwright, and theatrical director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films ''The Manchurian Candidate'', ...
of Complicite
The Fortean Institute
''The Times'', 1 September 2008
''Liverpool Confidential''
Oblomovka
Danny O'Brien
BBC News
BBC Radio 4's ''Last Word''
''My Much-Missed Madcap Friend''
by Richard Eyre
Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director.
Biography
Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Ma ...
, ''The Guardian'', 11 October 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Ken
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
English male comedians
English male film actors
English male radio actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English theatre directors
Forteana
People educated at Chigwell School
People from Ilford
People from Loughton
1941 births
2008 deaths
20th-century English comedians
English people of Scottish descent