The popular comedian and actor Kenneth Williams was born in 1926, and despite his early death in 1988 he is still remembered with affection by comedy afficiandos.
David Benson came to fame with his one-man show about Williams, Think No Evil of Us: My Life With Kenneth Williams, which debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1996.
In a revised 30th anniversary version, My Life With Kenneth Williams starts a major UK tour on 25 Jan 2026.
“In a dazzling display of impeccably honed stage craft, Benson gives an unsparing portrayal of the tormented comic genius, lurching from hilarity to self-pity in public and in private.”
Benson recalls having his short story, The Rag and Bone Man, chosen and performed by Williams himself as part of a Jackanory competition in 1975:
“At the time, it was a great embarrassment to me. I was now associated in the minds of my enemies at school with the most outrageously camp man in England.
For a schoolboy desperately struggling with his sexuality in the hostile environment of 1970s Britain, the connection was mortifying. As I found out at school the next day …”
For details of all shows: http://www.mylifewithkennethwilliams.co.uk/
Header image: Steve Ullathorne
You’re returning to the subject of Kenneth Williams after 30 years for his centenary. How does it feel to be back in character?
It turns out that the 30th anniversary of my solo show Think No Evil of Us – My Life With Kenneth Williams, coincides with Kenneth’s Centenary Year so it feels like the perfect time to revisit my show and try ‘the voice’ again.
I very rarely imitate Kenneth these days and returning to the character feels oddly comfortable and deeply familiar, like seeing an old friend after many years.
You’re also widely known for your Noel Coward cabarets. Do you find there’s a link between the two performers and their styles?
I did have a show some years back in which I sang lots of Coward songs, many of them little-known rarities.
And I was very lucky to be cast in the role of Coward in the BBC series Goodnight Sweetheart. That came about because the show’s creators, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, came to see me perform Think No Evil of Us.
In that show ‘Kenneth’ does an imitation of Coward, which must have given them the idea. I was a Coward fan since the age of 14 and this adoration of The Master is something that links me to Kenneth Williams.
He worshipped Coward and you can hear many echoes of that clipped, incisive voice in Williams’ own delivery. Kenneth also recorded a couple of Coward’s patter songs, a near-perfect vocal impersonation.
Do you think Kenneth Williams is now a national treasure, and why/why not?
Kenneth does seem to have endured in the public imagination whilst so many other actors of his generation have faded.
I try and remember that there are now two generations who have no idea who Kenneth was nor have they heard of the Carry On films.
Yet there is something about him, his wit, vocal dexterity, the largeness of his public personality that continues to interest and amuse new audiences.
A few years ago I was asked to contribute a five-minute Kenneth Williams spot to a touring ‘juke box’ musical. I came out and talked to the audience in his voice and sang his comic ‘French’ song [“Ma Crepe Suzette”].
I was amazed at the response, particularly from younger audiences who had no idea who I was impersonating – they just liked the character.
I am hoping on this new tour to introduce Kenneth Williams to a whole new audience!
What was the hardest thing to get right about Kenneth’s character?
To play him in his most serious, desperate moments without it sounding in any way comedic. I spent a lot of time researching his key phrases and favourite words, by reading his diaries; but in the end, I created much of the show by improvising with a tape recorder, in character.