Ken Campbell

Acting

Ken Campbell

Born 1941-12-10 · Ilford, Essex, England, UK

Kenneth Victor Campbell (10 December 1941 – 31 August 2008) was an English writer, actor, director and comedian known for his work in experimental theatre.He has been called "a one-man dynamo of British theatre."   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. 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."  The Times labelled Campbell a one-man whirlwind of comic and surreal performance. The Guardian, in a posthumous tribute, judged him to be "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."   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."  

Acting credits

A Fish Called Wanda poster
7.2

While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.

A Fish Called Wanda

1988

Creep poster
6.0

Trapped in a London subway station, a woman who's being pursued by a potential attacker heads into the unknown labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city's streets

Creep

2004

The Bride poster
5.4

Doctor Frankenstein creates a mate for his monster, a woman called Eva, who promptly rejects the male creature. In turn, the doctor becomes obsessed with Eva, and tries to make her a perfect Victorian woman.

The Bride

1985

Wings of Fame poster
6.5

After several attempts to approach film star Cesar Valentin, writer Brian Smith takes matters into his own hands, shooting the actor in front of hundreds of fans, only to be killed himself in the ensuing chaos. Achieving instant notoriety, Smith transcends with Valentin to a luxury hotel in the afterlife, a strange new world beyond the veil of mortality inhabited exclusively by dead celebrities.

Wings of Fame

1990

Alice in Wonderland poster
6.2

Alice follows a white rabbit down a rabbit-hole into a whimsical Wonderland, where she meets characters like the delightful Cheshire Cat, the clumsy White Knight, a rude caterpillar, and the hot-tempered Queen of Hearts and can grow ten feet tall or shrink to three inches. But will she ever be able to return home?

Alice in Wonderland

1999

Letter to Brezhnev poster
6.4

The factories, pubs, clubs, hotels and streets of 1980s Liverpool form the backdrop for this tale of love, friendship, sex and a letter to the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev. Two Liverpool lasses, Teresa and Elaine meet two Russian sailors, Sergei and Peter and hook up for a night of fun and frolics. Teresa is looking for sex and a smile, Elaine wants love, romance and the dream of a life far away from the grime of the Liverpool docklands. A classic British romantic comedy filled with new wave tunes, 80s fashion, a little politics and a lot of heart.

Letter to Brezhnev

1985

Inspector Clouseau poster
5.0

Detective Inspector Jacques Clouseau is borrowed from the Surete on special assignment for Scotland Yard in hopes that a fresh outlook will help the government recover the loot from the Great Train Robbery, which is being used to underwrite a new crime wave. What they don't count on, however, is having more than one Clouseau on the job.

Inspector Clouseau

1968

Scandal poster
6.0

An English bon-vivant osteopath is enchanted with a young exotic dancer and invites her to live with him. He serves as friend and mentor, and through his contacts and parties she and her friend meet and date members of the Conservative Party. Eventually a scandal occurs when her affair with the Minister of War goes public, threatening their lifestyles and their freedom.

Scandal

1989

Poor Cow poster
6.4

Joy lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age, she marries and has a child–with an abusive thief who quickly ends up incarcerated. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to give her some happiness but who also ends up locked up. She then takes up with a series of seedy types who offer nothing but momentary pleasure–if that.

Poor Cow

1967

Dreamchild poster
6.6

80-year-old Alice Hargreaves is about to visit Columbia University to attend a reception in honour of author Lewis Carroll. As a child, Alice's close friendship with the writer was the creative catalyst for Carroll's most beloved work. However, as Alice reflects on her experiences with the author, she slowly realises the complexity of their bond has had lasting, deeply felt ramifications.

Dreamchild

1985

A Zed & Two Noughts poster
7.0

Identical twin zoologists lose their wives in a car crash caused by a white swan. They become obsessed with the death and decay of animals, and develop a strange and unusual relationship with the driver of the car, a woman who is now an amputee.

A Zed & Two Noughts

1985

Saving Grace poster
6.5

Unexpectedly widowed, prim and proper housewife Grace Trevethyn finds herself in dire financial straits when she inherits massive debts her late husband had been accruing for years. Faced with losing her house, she decides to use her talent for horticulture and hatches a plan to grow potent marijuana which can be sold at an astronomical price, thus solving her financial crisis.

Saving Grace

2000

Breaking Glass poster
6.9

Breaking Glass is the story of punk singer Kate and her meteoric rise to stardom. Starting out in the rock pubs of London, Kate, assisted by her manager Danny, becomes a huge star overnight. Once at the top the pressure is immense as Kate's band are squeezed out and she is left to cope alone in the spotlight.

Breaking Glass

1980

The Tempest poster
5.8

Prospero, a potent magician, lives on a desolate isle with his virginal daughter, Miranda. He's in exile, banished from his duchy by his usurping brother and the King of Naples. Providence brings these enemies near; aided by his vassal the spirit Ariel, Prospero conjures a tempest to wreck the Italian ship. The king's son, thinking all others lost, becomes Prospero's prisoner, falling in love with Miranda and she with him. Prospero's brother and the king wander the island, as do a drunken cook and sailor, who conspire with Caliban, Prospero's beastly slave, to murder Prospero. Prospero wants reason to triumph, Ariel wants his freedom, Miranda a husband; the sailors want to dance.

The Tempest

1979

Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice poster
7.5

Internationally acclaimed ventriloquist Nina Conti takes the bereaved puppets of her mentor and erstwhile lover Ken Campbell on a pilgrimage to "Venthaven" the resting place for puppets of dead ventriloquists. She gets to know her latex and wooden travelling partners along the way, and with them deconstructs herself and her lost love in this ventriloquial docu-mockumentary requiem. Ken Campbell was a hugely respected maverick of the British theatre, an eccentric genius who would snort out forgotten artforms. Nina was his protégé in ventriloquism and has been said to have reinvented the artform. This film is truly unique in genre and style. No one has seen ventriloquism like this before.

Nina Conti: Her Master's Voice

2012

Hard Men poster
6.0

British Gangster film with a tongue-in-cheek approach to the genre, including a part played by 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. When Tone's ex girlfriend resurfaces with a daughter he never knew he had, he moves from the world of blackmail, extortion and the occasional hit into the realm of nappies and lullabies. His pals, Speed and Bear, feel let down, but his employer Pops Den is furious and decides the best thing to do is wipe Tone out...but who will do it...and at what price?

Hard Men

1996

The Story of Pantomime poster
NR

This 1976 BBC documentary sees Ken Campbell (and his Roadshow) investigate the origins and the development of the traditional British Christmas pantomime.

The Story of Pantomime

1976

Unfair Exchanges poster
NR

Julie Walters stars as a single mother seemingly haunted by a sinister telephone system that seems to have become an evil intelligence in its own right.

Unfair Exchanges

1985

Friends Reunited poster
NR

Two decades after they graduate, dark secrets, jealousies, and long-buried issues of resentment arise with a group of former classmates.

Friends Reunited

2005

The Secret Policeman's Ball poster
6.4

A series of benefit concerts to raise money for Amnesty International. Performances include comedy skits and musical numbers by a varied cast of mostly British performers. Featuring several Monty Python members, Rowan Atkinson, and Peter Cook.

The Secret Policeman's Ball

1979

Dinner at the Sporting Club poster
5.0

Vinny Mathews is a small time boxing promoter who struggles with his conscience over what to do with a fighter he knows is unfit to face his opponent. However, Mathews needs sponsorship and this would be the ideal opportunity to mix with the "frilly shirted" sportsmen who enjoy their lavish lifestyle as fighters slug it out as the steak is served!

Dinner at the Sporting Club

1978

No artwork available
7.0

A BAFTA award nominated black comedy about life and death in a London tower block.

Towers of Babel

1981

In the Secret State poster
7.0

A Government Department with data on us all in its computers is not functioning quite as its ex-Head intended. Frank Strange sets out to clear his own name and finds he is investigating a murder.

In the Secret State

1985

The Big Flame poster
6.8

After a prolonged industrial dispute in the Liverpool Docks, the striking workers reject management demands of a return to work and decide instead to occupy the docks and run the operation themselves.

The Big Flame

1969

Behind the camera

Unfair Exchanges poster
NR

Julie Walters stars as a single mother seemingly haunted by a sinister telephone system that seems to have become an evil intelligence in its own right.

Unfair Exchanges

1985

The Rules of the Game poster
8.0

Dramatist Luigi Pirandello's mordant comedy of manners tells the tale of upper-crust Italians Silia Gala and her sneering spouse, Leone, who finds his impassivity tested when he has to duel his wife's frustrated paramour.

The Rules of the Game

1975

Secret Service poster
8.0

Set in Richmond, Virginia in October 1864, tells the story of a Union spy working to seize control of the telegraph office.

Secret Service

1977

The Mound Builders poster
7.0

In this production of Lanford Wilson’s Obie Award-winning play, Native American traditions conflict with modern society when archaeologists try to uncover the mysteries of ancient native temple mounds before rising waters flood the region.

The Mound Builders

1976

Ken Campbell's Meaning of Life poster
NR

Can the time travelling community of Damanhur prevent human extinction? Could Nosebleed, an unmade movie by Jackie Chan, have prevented the 9/11 attacks? Can we defeat the Enemy of Mankind armed only with copies of Anne of Green Gables and Dr Xavier Crement's Asshole trilogy? All is revealed in Ken Campbell's brilliant one-man comedy show. In this, the penultimate one-man show by maverick comedian, playwright and director Ken Campbell (1941-2008), Ken talks about the mysteries of quantum physics, the multiverse and time travel, the significance of Jackie Chan and Anne of Green Gables, and why he doesn't believe in anything but supposes lots. And why everybody you know is some kind of arsehole. This unique film was made in 2004 at his home and environs in Loughton and Epping Forest, Essex. Written and performed by Ken Campbell, filmed by Leon Hatcher, edited by John Cattle, produced and (sort of) directed by James Nye.

Ken Campbell's Meaning of Life

2004