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Dateline: 2nd September, 2008
Ken Campbell (1941 - 2008) Actor, director, writer, ventriloquist and, as Michael Billington described him, "British theatre’s antic visionary", Ken Campbell has died suddenly at the age of 66. He was born in Ilford and trained at RADA, after which he toured in Fings Ain't What They Used to Be for nine months before joining the Colchester Rep as understudy to Warren Mitchell. He soon began writing and his first play, Events of an Average Bath Night, was directed by Mitchell. He caught the eye of Lindsay Anderson who brought him to the Royal Court where he worked as a junior director. In the early seventies he set up The Ken Campbell Roadshow, which toured to non-theatre spaces (especially pubs). Among those who worked with the company were Bob Hoskins and Sylvester McCoy. In 1976 he and Chris Langham set up the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool to present a eight hour version of the Illuminatus! trilogy, which later became the first production to play in the National Theatre's Cottesloe. Also in the cast were David Rappaport, Jim Broadbent, and Campbell's wife Prunella Gee. In the eighties he produced a series of one-man shows, including Recollections of a Furtive Nudist and The History of Comedy part one: Ventriloquism. Ventriloquism, in fact, was a great love of his. He was instrumental in persuading Nina Conti (whose show Evolution was a big success at this year's Fringe) to take it up and he also taught it at RADA and East 15. His television work included working with Warren Mitchell in In Sickness and In Heath and an appearance in an episode of Fawlty Towers. He also presented Reality On the Rocks, Brainspotting and Six Experiments that Changed the World for Channel 4. he appeared in a number of films, including A Fish Called Wanda, Breaking Glass and Derek Jarman's The Tempest, but always in small parts. He also made a number of short films of his own, some of which were never reelased. He had a reputation for being zany and off-the-wall, and his most famous practical joke was a very convincing press release, which he sent out after the RSC's successful production of Nicholas Nickleby, which was 'signed' "Luv, Trev" (Trevor Nunn), that the company was to change its name to the Royal Dickens Company. There were those who believed it and Trevor Nunn was so incensed that he asked the police to investigate. Eventually Campbell owned up and he and Nunn were reconciled, with the latter asking him to write The History of Comedy part one: Ventriloquism for the National. Hi final appearance on stage was at this year's Edinburgh Fringe where he appeared in the final five performances , from 20th to 24th August, of Showstopper: The Improvised Musical at the George Square Theatre.
Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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