Interview with Ben Target (Humour Me Comedy Podcast)

Ben Target is an award-winning comedian and one of the most creative and innovative comedians in the U.K. Ben was nominated for Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer for his 53-minute show debut "hour" at the Edinburgh Festival in 2012 and has consistently been a Fringe favourite. Ben has performed all around the world, delighting (and sometimes baffling) audiences with his visual jokes, puns and commitment to his astonishing craft.

Target has been working on several film projects, including 'Frank' and 'The Bird' with Joe Parham and Turtle Canyon Comedy. 'Frank' is the story of a reclusive young model maker (Kieran Hodgson) whose unsettling but deeply touching attempt to attract the attention of the woman he loves (Natalie Dibsdale) is sabotaged by his greatest creation.The film was made on a tiny budget – no more than a few hundred quid – and shot in Joe’s house and the surrounding area with the help of friends and relatives. Everything in the film was built or found by Ben and Joe, and Ben constructed Frank’s creation, as Frank himself does, out of stuff he pilfered from a skip (including a set of manikin legs, a supermarket trolley and some discarded military medals.) This homemade aesthetic was crucial to the production, look and ethos of the film. www.turtlecanyonmedia.com/frank

The creative team behind 'Frank' are currently in knee deep with their followup film 'The Bird', once again directed by Joe Parham & Ben Target. The film stars BAFTA Award winner and cult comedy favourite, actress Julia Davis and rising star Alastair Roberts. It is a tragic yet touching tale about a son struggling to direct his mother’s attention and affection towards himself and away from a garden bird who visits her every day. The team are currently crowdfunding for post-production to help make this ambitious film a reality, any further help would be hugely appreciated. www.turtlecanyonmedia.com/thebird/birdplea.html

www.bentarget.com
www.twitter.com/bentarget

-

Sara Shulman is the Founder and Editor of Comedy Blogedy, TEDxUCL speaker on 'The Power of Funny', former Head of Comedy at UCLU Rare FM and produces the Humour Me Comedy Podcast. Sara is also a Classics Undergraduate at UCL and occasionally gigs on the comedy circuit. 

www.comedyblogedy.com 

www.twitter.com/comedyblog 


http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxUCL-SARA-SHULMAN-The-power;search%3Asara%20shulman

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the world's top universities. Across all disciplines our faculties are known for their research-intensive approaches, academic excellence and engagement with global challenges. This is the basis of our world-renowned degree programmes. Visit us at http://ucl.ac.uk.