'Fate (Burdens)' Review & Interview with Ben Murray (Writer/Director)

This review is simply my humble opinion. I don't claim to be anything other than some regular Joe who enjoys stories and is interested in other human beings.  I only chose to write this interview because I personally am interested in what makes a person tick, and how someone as young as Ben managed to pull together such an enjoyable story and tell it so beautifully.  Though I will be honest, I certainly don't want to intentionally offend anyone, so I am sorry if I do.

About Me and How I Met Mr. Murray.

I was born in London and when we moved away, the Londoner in my Mother's soul ensured that even as children, we were no stranger to the stage, the ballet and concerts. 

But I'm these days I'm not as cultured as I'd like to be. 
There's a pile of unread books by my bed. 
I haven't seen a ballet in over a decade.
I don't even watch movies until they come out on DVD. 

Such is life.

There is nothing quite like live theatre. 
Nothing quite like someone telling you a story from a few yards away, able to look directly into your eyes. It's level of intimacy that can never be achieved by TV or cinema, no matter how hot Brad Pitt is.

Being a creative kind of person, I often find myself drawn to other creative minded people, whatever kind of business they're in. I quite recently made new friends with a particularly lovely couple, who I originally met through the local home-educating network.
They are the kind of people I immediately clicked with. 
The kind of people who you visit to pick something up and two hours later your husband is texting you wondering why on earth you haven't come home yet. I could talk with them for hours. 
My favourite bit about them both is that, like me, they have a giant list of projects. 
I get that. 
Totally. 

So, when I discovered my new friends were part of a theatre company, I got tickets. I went to see the first play with my family, but when it came to the second and third, I just fancied going alone so I didn't push for anyone to join me.

Fate (Burdens); Review.

The only thing I knew about the play was it's name.

I had no idea what I was in for.

It was exciting to sit down, alone, awaiting a story, some one's story, with only the general hope I'd enjoy it.

The play began with a plunge into absolute darkness, which I found unnerving. Not because I fear the dark, because I don't, I just don't like not being able to see. I also worry about what I will see when the lights come back on. 
Throughout the play, between each scene, the lights went off again. I don't mean to be over dramatic, but it was a bit like being plunged into a pool of black water, not knowing how long I'd be held under, listening to tables being moved across the floor, waiting for the noise to stop because that's when the lights will come back. I'd emerge, squinty eyed, my senses completely overloaded. Truth be told, I am very light sensitive, so this may not have been the desired effect, and although it may have only been so the stage crew could move stuff, it actually added to the plot for me. It added a darkness, and insecurity, and loneliness that made me relate to the main characters more.

I honestly didn't expect to enjoy this play quite so much.
I love that it was written by a 17 year old, and if nothing else, I hope it teaches us to never underestimate our teenagers.

There are a few things I can pin point which made it so enjoyable.
Firstly, Charlotte Pedley (Elita) and Curtis Ledsham (Ruben) are delightfully awkward. They have a very natural insecurity to the way they hold themselves which expresses the ineptitude of teenage love marvellously. I'm sure we all remember living in a body which was changing too fast for us to get used to, being so unsure of who we were and whether or not we were even like-able.

There is a background story left untold; Lex (played by Sean Goss) knows Ruben because he was his big brother's guardian, and that he is just as cut up about Luke's death as Ruben is. I wonder if Reuben should have known, if it would have made him feel less alone...?

The death scene was done perfectly, both unexpected and not over played. I'm not going to ruin it for anyone by telling you who died. Amateur dramatics obviously has a horrible habit of over acting and I always find myself annoyed by it. Over acting has its place in slapstick comedy moments but not in the death of a loved one.

And lastly, I loved the ongoing joke about sex being gross and disgusting to angels, as I imagine any androgynous being would.

Now, I don't know much about these things, but I'd say it was a brilliantly written play, with perfect timing and wit. 
There were two moments I thought I'd sob; during the death scene and during Ruben's very moving monologue when his face was cracking. I felt it too. 
And if I gasp out loud, in a room full of strangers, the way I did during the death scene, you know you've got my attention.

Introducing Mr Ben Murray.
I first saw Ben when he played Benedict in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. My family and I were really struck by his obvious talent. Maybe I need to be more familiar with the Shakespearean language, but sometimes he got a bit overexcited and spoke his lines so fast I couldn't keep up. Regardless, it was noticeable how comfortable he is on the stage.

Ben is a sprightly little thing, with a cheeky grin and bundles of talent, both as an actor and a writer. His stage presence is natural and he doesn't come across like he's over thinking it all, yet you won't see him slip out of his role for a second when he's anywhere near the stage. The simplest of gestures finishes each line with such finesse. He is simply, a joy to watch and obviously has a bright future ahead of him.

I asked him to sign my programme, not just because Laura, the producer, egged me on, but because I think Ben is special and he'll go far if he chooses to.

Taken by Terasa Newton

My Chat With Mr. Murray.

Ben is the kind of person, who if he was stuck on a desert island, would miss his guitar much more than his phone. He loves his tattered black converse pumps, which may disintegrate before he lets them go. In his spare time, he writes. He write music, plays, stories, everything. Just writes. If he wasn’t allowed a pen and paper on that island, he’d be writing songs in the sand with a twig.

His family are originally from Manchester, but moved to Tattenhall when his Mum got a new job in Chester. Nothing happens there apparently, but it's very green. Sounds idyllic to me.

I was very surprised to hear that Ben has just finished his first year of A levels in very academic, rather than creative subjects; Maths, Chemistry and Biology. He’s studying what he’s good at rather than what he enjoys, which is a story we are probably all familiar with. Young people so often have no idea what they want to do so when it comes to subject choice, they often chose what they’re most likely to succeed at rather than what really stirs their hearts. Seventeen year old Ben’s been part of the Boaty Theatre Company since he was about thirteen and playing guitar since he was fourteen. He's been writing music since he starting playing, writing plays for two years and he really wants to carve himself a career from these creative pursuits, but felt like he was encouraged to have an academic ‘back up plan’. At his show, his Step-Dad was on the front row, taking photos all the way through. He looked like the proudest Dad in the land, and he was certainly gave the loudest cheer at the end. His Mum is his biggest fan, he reckons if he suggested setting up a world class trapeze act and tour the world with the circus, she'd be there cheering him on.

Until a few years ago, the Boaty Theatre Company, now called Chalice Productions, used to be quite different. Someone once described it to me as more like a youth club, meeting for just an hour a week. When Laura began helping out, things started moving for the young members there. She turned around to them one day and said “Let's do a steam-punk version of the Tempest!” and they were like “OK!”  For the first time, no one was being brought in the play the main roles, they were carrying the whole play.
Now they all meet every week, for at least two hours, and now Chalice have their own official space, the opportunities are endless.

Ben originally wrote the script for ‘Fate’, his first attempt at a play, as part of a GCSE exam piece, which he of course received full marks for. It was supposed to be just five or six minutes long, but when he and his friends played it out, it was more like twenty. However, because all the people who had parts each had a five minute monologue, they got much better grades than if they’d worked with a smaller script.

When Chalice Media got some funding, Ben asked Laura (the founder) if he could write a full length version so they could show it and although she was really supportive, he presumed there was a part of her that suspected he wouldn’t manage to do it.

Knowing Laura, I doubt this myself. She remembers him as this shy little emo kid, and she has enjoyed watching grow into the young man he is now. He knows her better now, and knows how enthusiastic she is about everyone who wants to have a bash at anything.

Because he’d known the group for so long, as he wrote it, he pretty much knew who’d play what. The only parts which could have been played by any of them were the two baddie angels, but he chose Alice and Charlotte because they are great friends and have a very natural chemistry between them.

Laura read one of the later drafts, provided a location and a techie to do the lights, then left him to his own devices. Ben did the sound, wrote some of the music and played a part, pushing himself to see just how much he could do.

“Can I do all this? Let’s try! So I did.”

Laura purposefully never watched any of the rehearsals, she wanted to give him the space to discover what he’s capable of.

During the play, he’d have to throw on a barista shirt over the top of a shirt & tie, run up to the stage, perform lines, and then run back to the sound desk. And he did it, without fault.

Ben’s role in the play was left rather open ended. When I asked him if he was God or just some fallen angel playing tricks, he simply asked me what I thought. He wanted to leave it open to the viewers to decide for themselves.

There was one scene on the first night it showed, that went a little flat and at the end I overheard the actors say they had improvised. Apparently one of them had forgotten their lines, but Ben was pleased with how they dealt with it. They just got on with it and no one seemed to notice. “It happens” Ben said simply. 

Since he wrote a play about God, I had to ask if he believes in some higher power watching over us, but no, he doesn’t and he was worried there would people coming up to him afterwards complaining of blasphemous intentions, but he never meant to offend anyone.

“Religion just doesn’t appeal to me, but I find it interesting the way people attach ‘fate’ and ‘God’ to the same things. That’s why I wanted to write about it.”

Ben feels really fortunate that he knew people who could help him achieve what he’d set out to do. The lesson to be learnt here, is that if you keep meeting people, letting them know what you can do, what you’d like to do, eventually someone will to come to you with a great idea.

Just keep putting yourself out there.

“I only got ‘Fate’ shown because I asked.”

If you want to write, keep writing. Just get it down on paper! Show it to your friends, and then redraft it. Keep doing that until you're happy with it.

And lastly, if Mr. Ben Murray was forced to sing one song on X factor, it would be This Modern Love by Bloc Party.

A bit about Chalice Media.

Chalice was set up by Laura Harris (author of Splintered) as she worked alongside the Boaty Theatre Company who are based at the Boat Museum in Ellesmere Port, so that local talent could be supported in their creative pursuits. Having an official company means that funding could be sourced and Ben's play, along with another, was aided by the Arts Council.

Chalice are able to help people in so many ways, from acting classes to getting books published. The future is very bright for them, Laura is infectiously positive and proactive, and if you're local to the Ellesmere Port/North West area, get in touch with them if you're interested in any of the things they do.

You can follow Chalice on Facebook here and you can check out their website chalicemediagroup.com.

Terasa Newton, who took that fabulous photo of Ben is also on Facebook here and linkedin here.