Ken Campbell

For other people named Ken Campbell, see Ken Campbell (disambiguation).

Ken Campbell
Born
Kenneth Victor Campbell

(1941-12-10)10 December 1941
Ilford, Essex, England
Died31 August 2008(2008-08-31) (aged 66)
Loughton, Essex, England
EducationRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupations
  • Actor
  • writer
  • director
Years active1961–2008
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1978; div. 1983)​
ChildrenDaisy

Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English actor, writer and director known for his work in experimental theatre.[1] He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre".[2]

Campbell achieved notoriety in the 1970s for his nine-hour adaptation of the science-fiction trilogy Illuminatus! and his 22-hour staging of Neil Oram's play cycle The Warp. The Guinness Book of Records listed the latter as the longest play in the world.[3][4]

The Independent 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."[5] The Times labelled Campbell a one-man whirlwind of comic and surreal performance.[6]

Michael Coveney, in an obituary in The Guardian, 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."[7] The artistic director of the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse said, "He was the door through which many hundreds of kindred souls entered a madder, braver, brighter, funnier and more complex universe."[8]

  1. ^ Hanman, Natalie (1 September 2008). "Improv king Ken Campbell dies". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  2. ^ Discover How to Gather Riches Along With Cheap Ray Ban. "Ken Campbell | The Scope". Thescope.ca. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  3. ^ Ian Shuttleworth. "THE WARP: Introduction". Compulink.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  4. ^ "World's longest play. Neil Oram The Warp". Thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Ken Campbell: Actor, writer and director famed for his epic plays and one-man shows - Obituaries, News". The Independent. London. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  6. ^ "Ken Campbell oneman whirlwind of comic and surreal performances". The Times. London. 2 September 2008. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  7. ^ Coveney, Michael (1 September 2008). "Obituary: Ken Campbell | Stage | guardian.co.uk". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
  8. ^ "Ken Campbell: A Tribute". Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres. 4 September 2008. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 14 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)