“Working with Ken on Great Expectations was a delight. He came to the project with an incredible amount of knowledge and enthusiasm. He’s also just a really nice guy to work with.”
— Katherine Senior, Producer
Nichola McAuliffe playing Miss Havisham in Great Expectations
I’ve developed and written feature-length standalone stories, prequels, sequels and long-form serials. And being a director informs my writing enormously. Working at the coalface you quickly learn what’s helpful to actors and craftspeople. Dramatic storytelling relies on a sense of community, each of us doing everything we can to help the next person in the chain, and that process starts with the script.
“A respectfully inventive, pretty much perfect version. I loved the production.” ★★★★★
— Libby Purves, theatrecat.com (Review of Great Expectations)
Not every story is linear and my journey has been a winding one. My dad was a voracious reader and from a young age I’d pick up the books he’d finished. After art, English became my second strongest subject, and my short story assignments the only other top grades I could rely on. I soon realised something I enjoyed could be more than a hobby, but it wasn’t until much later I realised writing also gave me a voice.
At sixteen I went to art school where we studied semiotics, deconstructing films by Alfred Hitchcock and stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. It taught me how to interpret and communicate meaning and it’s now one of my greatest assets. After graduating I worked for a couple of years in advertising but it didn’t suit me so I took out a student loan and went to drama school, then worked as a labourer to pay off the debt. Throughout this period I became painfully aware of how people in positions of power readily exploit the powerless, and although I didn’t know it at the time, the foundations of my work as a writer and director were being laid.
Now, whether I’m writing an original story, an episode of an ongoing series or an adaptation, my writing challenges authority. I may not be able to do much about it in life, but I can damn well do it on the page.
“As a writer, Ken leaves no stone unturned. His specificity, emotional literacy, firm grasp of plot and sheer honesty in the depiction of characters always leaves me full of admiration. A Ken Bentley script is fearless in its ambition and impact.”
NICHOLAS BRIGGS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
“Ken has strong storytelling instincts and is an insightful and inspiring collaborator, always pushing for the best possible end result.”
MATT FITTON, WRITER AND SCRIPT EDITOR
“There is real authenticity to Ken’s writing.”
EMMA HAIGH, PRODUCER
I’ve had scripts produced for stage and audio including:
UNIT ERAS - THE INDIGO CHILD (1 × 60 min)
THE PATERNOSTER GANG - DOPPELGANGERS (1 × 60 min)
SURVIVORS NEW DAWN 3 and 4 (5 × 60 min)
THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU (1 × 120 min)
THE OMEGA FACTOR - THE HOLLOW EARTH (1 × 60 min)
GREAT EXPECTATIONS (Malvern Theatres, UK tour)
My stage adaptation of GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens is available for performance. It’s been written for an ensemble and can be performed by a small or large cast. If you’d like to enquire about the rights please email my agent.