David Benson returns with his legendary portrait of the outrageous comedy star in My Life with Kenneth Williams, a revised 30th anniversary version of his critically acclaimed solo show Think No Evil of Us: My Life with Kenneth Williams.
The major UK tour launches Sunday 25th January 2026, marking a double anniversary: Kenneth Williams’ 100th birthday and thirty years since Benson’s debut at the Edinburgh Fringe, where the original show won a Scotsman Fringe First Award.
“We all miss Kenneth Williams but thanks to David Benson, we’ve got him back!” said Mark Gatiss.
Audiences can expect a dazzling display of stage craft as Benson delivers an unsparing portrayal of the tormented comic genius, lurching from hilarity to self-pity both in public and private.
Praise for Benson’s performance has come from Williams’ closest friends, including Dame Maggie Smith and Dame Barbara Windsor. Windsor remarked: “How did you know all that? That’s just what it was like having dinner out with Kenny. A bloomin’ nightmare!” Smith wrote to Benson after hearing his impersonation: “You ‘put the heart across me,’ as the Irish say – for I thought it was Kenneth!”
The show also revisits Benson’s childhood connection with Williams through the BBC series Jackanory, when Williams performed Benson’s winning short story on national television. Benson reflects: “At the time, it was a huge embarrassment to me… For a schoolboy desperately struggling with his sexuality in the hostile environment of 1970s Britain, the connection was mortifying.”
In this new edition, Benson includes extracts from the only recording of that 1975 broadcast and shares the harrowing truth of his home life, captured by a BBC researcher.
My Life with Kenneth Williams will tour venues across the UK, including Faversham, Winchester, Henley, Kendal, Stirling, Bedford, Shrewsbury, Colchester, Guildford, Gorleston, Peterborough, Exeter, and Weymouth, with more dates to be announced.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
