The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager is an absurdist dark satire around office culture. Created by Bunkum Ensemble, the show blends physical comedy, live music and pointless galore the psychological toll of corporate culture and our search for meaning through work. Through a series of live-scored musical PowerPoint presentations, this is a show for those who question what they are doing at work and want to laugh along the way. We sat down with Jack to discuss his upcoming production.
- Thank you for chatting with A Young(ish) Perspective! Introduce us to who you are and what your doing at the Edinburgh Fringe this year?
Hello. I’m Jack Parris, writer of The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager. I also play Ben in the show which is a new dark comedy produced by our company, Bunkum Ensemble. Our work is developed through improvisations between musicians and performers and we are excited to be sharing this at The Above 17:20 across the entire festival (not 11th,12th,13th)
- A Youngish Perspective platforms accessible arts and champions the huge scope of different perspectives – can you tell us about the show you’re taking to Edinburgh Festival Fringe as if you’re flyering to both a young first-time-Fringe goer and a festival veteran returning every year?
The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager is about a man called Ben Weaver who picks up a magical lanyard, and is transformed into his alter ego Ben Manager. He then receives a relentless series of promotions up the corporate hierarchy despite not knowing what he’s meant to be doing. It’s a dark comedy, and surreal satire of management culture with live scored music, songs, puppetry, powerpoints and physical theatre. The show is this year’s winner of the Charlie Hartill Early Ensemble Fund and we are delighted to be supported by Pleasance to bring this run to Edinburgh in 2025 – we wouldn’t be here without this support. Thank you, Pleasance!
- The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager is a commentary and criticism of office culture, what do you hope Fringe audiences will take away from the piece and bring to their own life?
Hopefully they’ll get to take away some useful jargon to expand their corporate toolkit. Maybe reflect on their own bullsh*t job.
- How has this show changed and developed over time – have any of the central themes shifted?
The ending! Writing a good ending is always difficult. It always feels like the most important bit to me. We’ve played with a few different endings to sharpen the satire a bit. In performance we found quite a few ambiguities in the piece and so we’ve been tweaking the script to keep the useful ambiguities while clearing up the ones that aren’t helpful. It’s tricky but satisfying work/play.
- Who would your surprise dream audience member be?
The CEO of JP Morgan Chase. Or some real life actual management consultants.
Pleasance Courtyard (Above) from 31st July – 25th August at 17:20. Tickets available here.