Benedict Clarke
Benedict (Ben) Clark is a BAFTA and 4 time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated writer, performer, director and producer [1]. He is best known for being part of the comedy sketch act Pappy's with Matthew Crosby and Tom Parry.[2]
Career
Pappy's Comedy Act (2005 to-date)
Ben went to school with his best friend, Tom Parry, who then went on to meet Matthew Crosby at University [3]. Originally formed as a four-man sketch team called Pappy's Fun Club, Ben first performed with Pappy's at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2006 where they were nominated for both best newcomer and the if.comedy award the following year. [4]
In May 2008 Pappy's Fun Club debuted on Radio 4 Extra.[5] A modern spin on the comedy gang show with Ben Clark, Matthew Crosby, Brendan Dodds, Tom Parry and Barry Cryer, the 30 minute show last aired on Fri 3 May 2013 at 23:10.[5]
Founding member Brendan Dodds left in 2009, leaving Ben Clark, Matthew Crosby and Tom Parry to perform under the truncated name of Pappy's.[4]
Pappy's Bangers and Mash Podcast
Ben's first podcast experience with Pappy's was Pappy's Bangers and Mash, which ran from April 2011 to February 2017.[6]
Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown Live Podcast
On 1st June 2011 the first Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown podcast aired as a free download.[7] An innovative audio comedy panel game podcast, it is recorded in front of a live audience [8]. The podcast was called "Episode 1 (Gas)". The format of the ongoing popular podcast has remained much the same. It sets the scene as Ben being in a flatshare and required to do an (imagined) task, set by Matthew Crosby, which of course he is not keen to do. Ben and Tom then each introduce a well-known comedian guest to help them in a quiz against each other to determine who has to do the imaginary task.[9]
Badults
In 2013 Ben Clark, Matthew Crosby and Tom Parry created and acted in the BBC Three TV series Badults.[10] The concept of the TV show was that Ben, Tom and Matthew, three flatmates in their late 20s, are fulfilling a pact they made as kids to live together when they grew up.[11] The series follows their bad, yet childish behaviour, showing the three to be bad at being adults.....badults.[11] Among the schemes the three guys come up with are turning the flat into a pop-up restaurant, getting a dance anthem into the UK charts and, of course, re-enacting the French Revolution.[12] Comedian Stuart Goldsmith describes the TV show as [the] "Big-hearted gangshow Pappy’s” being the "sweatiest, loveliest bunch of xxxxheads you could ever hope to see pretending to be in their twenties on BBC3." [13] Badults had two series in 2013 and 2014.[10]
Pappy's Beef Brothers Cold Cuts & Pappy's House Meeting Podcasts
In 2019 two spinoff podcasts, under the same Flatshare Slamdown podcast content, were made available, Beef Brothers Cold Cuts and House Meeting. Beef Brothers was a result of the many entries into the same section within the original Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown podcast as part of the competition. The premise involving conflict between real life flatmates who provide details to the comedy trio for Ben and Tom, along with their guests, to make a decision on, quoting "beef solved" when they believe they have provided a decision on who should win. With the feature becoming popular Ben, Matthew and Tom created Beef Brothers as a way to help out their fans and have a little fun with it. House Meeting has a different feel, with Ben and the other Pappy's members discussing random things and listeners' letters [9]. Both podcasts are ongoing due to their popularity with their dedicated fans.[9]
Patreon Podcasts including Pappy's Flatshare Lockdown
Pappy's joined Patreon, the content sharing service that enables fans to get access to "community, exclusive content and the pride of fueling work they love" in 2019. The comedy trio provide extra content on this platform, including video episodes, Bonus Beef episodes, LoveSex ShagDown episodes, drunk episodes and bonus audio. During the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic Ben, Matthew and Tom also added Flatshare Lockdown to their Patreon service.[9]
Nominations and awards
As one third of Britain's most beloved live sketch groups [14], Ben has been nominated twice for 'Best Show' at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[12] Pappy's also won 'Best Sketch Act' twice, at the 2008 and 2014 Chortle Awards.[4]
Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown won the Loaded Lafta Award for Best podcast in 2012.[12]
2019 was a great year for Ben as he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Short Film for his role as co-writer and producer for the horror: 'The Blue Door'.[1] Critically acclaimed, the film has zero dialogue but is brilliantly shot and creatively staged so that you get sucked in immediately; and "it trades splatter and gore for suspense and dramatic tension".[15]
Tours
Ben has completed four sold out tours with Pappy's and continues to perform regularly on the London and national circuit, both with the sketch trio and as a solo actor [4], although due to the 2020 Pandemic his plans have been put on hold.
Ben's musical talent is best presented in the Pappy's podcasts he co-produces. He is an avid songwriter and creates songs and jingles for the series of podcasts created by the comedy trio.[1]
Personal life
Benedict Clark lives in London with his girlfriend Megan.[2][9]
Filmography
Writer:
The Emily Atack Show (2020) - 6 episodes[16]
The Blue Door (2017)
Host the Week (2017) - 1 episode
Badults (2013-2014) - 12 episodes
Great Movie Mistakes III: Not in 3D (2011)
Great Movie Mistakes 2: The Sequel (2011)
Comedy Lab (2008) - 1 episode
Actor:
Gameface (2017) Steven - 1 episode
Porridge (2017) Luke - 1 episode
The Spook School: Speak When You're Spoken To (video short, 2016)
Festevil (video short, 2014)
Badults (2013-2014) Ben - 12 episodes
Nuzzle and Scratch: Frock and Roll (2011) Farmer - 1 episode
Meet the Parents (2010) Brother - 6 episodes
Robert's Web (2010) Various - 1 episode
Comedy Lab (2008) Performer - 1 episode
Director:
The Spook School: Speak When You're Spoken To (2016)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Ben Clark | Writer/Director". The Talent Manager. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ben Clark LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-clark-44b35070?originalSubdomain=uk
- ↑ Crosby, Matthew (2020). "Matthew Crosby & Ed Gamble Radio Show, Radio X". Radio X. Retrieved 2020-12-28. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Pappy's, comedian tour dates : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Pappy's Fun Club". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-29. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Guide, British Comedy. "Pappy's Bangers And Mash". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
- ↑ Guide, British Comedy. "Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
- ↑ Guide, British Comedy. "Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 "Pappy's Flatshare is creating Podcasts and Comedy". Patreon. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Badults". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-28. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 uk, LUA Design dot co dot. "Pappy's". Pappy's. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 uk, LUA Design dot co dot. "Pappy's". Pappy's. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ "Ben Clark". The Comedian's Comedian. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ "Backyard Comedy Club". www.BackyardComedyClub.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ "Bafta Short Film Review: The Blue Door". The Good Men Project. 2019-05-30. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
- ↑ "Ben Clark". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
This article "Benedict Clarke" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Benedict Clarke. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
