Dragon Review: My Life With Kenneth Williams – Mill Studio

Published on: 3 Mar, 2026
Updated on: 3 Mar, 2026

David Benson becomes Williams with his physicality, voice and soul.

By Ferenc Hepp

Kenneth Williams would have been 100 on the February 22 this year. David Benson was 13 in 1975. Jackanory aired its final episode in 1996.

There is a connection between all these, and we found out the details last week in the Mill Studio of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre by watching My Life With Kenneth Williams, a one-man show performed by David Benson, directed and produced by Jack Lane, with Suzanna Rosenthal Productions.

Benson’s first venture into his portrayal of Kenneth Williams was in 1996, when Think No Evil of Us – My Life With Kenneth Williams opened at the Edinburgh Fringe.

30 years later, the majority of the Guildford audience knew exactly the TV personalities Benson was talking about, and even shouted out further suggestions.

The first half of the show was Benson being himself, talking about his love of comedy, specifically Spike Milligan, and how his short story The Rag And Bone Man was chosen from 15,000 entries to be read by Kenneth Williams on Jackanory on the December 10 1975.

Benson was only 13 at the time, but it sounds like he wasn’t a typical teenager. He spent a lot of his time writing comedy, whether it was for this
competition or as part of his homework, and he was a huge fan of the comedians at the time.

Luckily, he made sure that he had a tape recorder to record this by placing it in front of the family television, as this episode has since been erased.

This cassette tape still exists and Benson has it with him for this show.

Before the interval we get a fascinating insight into the background and passion that inspired Benson to write this show.

We can see how much meeting Spike Milligan meant to him, what his childhood was like, and even a hilarious impersonation of Benson’s headmaster in Birmingham commanding a school assembly where we find ourselves singing along as if we were the pupils.

We hear the recording of The Rag And Bone Man and Benson’s frustration when Williams was not doing the voices for some of the characters which Benson imagined, but we can see how humbled he was at the same time.

The second half of the evening is totally dedicated to Kenneth Williams. The facial expressions are uncanny, the voice is perfect.

It is more than an impersonation. Benson becomes Williams with his physicality, voice and soul.

We discover a number of aspects of Williams’s life in some short scenes, which include him talking to an audience about poetry, his life at home with some very private thoughts, and during a meal with friends in a restaurant where we see him enjoying himself with people he loved, interacting with the waiters as the entertainer, as well as trying fend off autograph hunters.

Kenneth Williams died from an overdose in 1988, and this is demonstrated with a very sensitive and emotional ending to Benson’s performance.

If you are looking to purely laugh at a Kenneth Williams impersonator, this show is not for you. If you are looking to reminisce or learn about the 1970s, and being entertained, laugh, cry, and make you think about someone who has an incredible passion about comedy and the life of Kenneth Williams with professional storytelling of exceptional quality that completely immerses you into that world, I would urge you to catch this before the end of the tour.

My Life With Kenneth Williams continues its national tour this week with a number of dates into April. Full details can be found at: www.mylifewithkennethwilliams.co.uk