Ben Crystal
Media Bar
Ben Crystal

Watch me in character or listen to my voice work by clicking on the appropriate menu option above.

Personal information, and a downloadable copy of my photo and CV can be found in Key Info. A selection of photographs of me in character and in person can be found in the Gallery, together with a showreel of extracts of my film work.

*You will need Apple's Quicktime Player to play the video.
Click here if you need to install this programme.

Media Bar
Ben Crystal Agents
Ben Crystal Acting Agent
Acting Agent
c/o Elinor Hilton
Elinor Hilton Associates
2nd Floor
28 Charing Cross Road
London, WC2H 0DB

t: +44 (0) 20 7240 2555
f: +44 (0) 20 7836 3982

e: info@elinorhilton.com
w: www.elinorhilton.com

Ben Crystal Acting Agent
Ben Crystal Voice Agent
Voice Agent
c/o Jane Savage
Calypso Voices
25 Poland Street
London, W1V 3DB

t: +44 (0) 20 7734 6415
f: +44 (0) 20 7437 0410

e: calypso@calypsovoices.com
w: www.calypsovoices.com

Ben Crystal Voice Agent
Ben Crystal Literary Agent
Literary Agent
c/o Zoe King
Darley Anderson Agency
Estelle House
11 Eustace Road
London, SW6 1JB

t: +44 (0) 20 7385 6652
f: +44 (0) 20 7386 5571

e: zoe@darleyanderson.com
w: www.darleyanderson.com

Ben Crystal Literary Agent
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
April 29th, 2008
Click and Hero the two short films I made with Kevin Curtis, are up at Cobravision - go search, watch, vote and comment here... They can also be seen on the Acting page...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
April 25th, 2008
Finished the sell-out run of 5pm, No Particular Afternoon, a devised piece with the physical theatre company Likely Story. I played Alex, a soldier returning from war suffering from PTSD. We used some of the Greek myths as starting points for the characters, and Alex was a modern version of Hercules, who, like the mythological fellow, kills his wife and daughter. Nice, light piece then. See the Gallery for pics...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
April 8th, 2008
Performed for the Liar's League for the second time, reading Peter LaChaise' Red. Clip here...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
April 1st, 2008
No fooling, the website for Shakespeare on Toast is now up and running...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
March 26th, 2008
For those of you that do, there's now a Facebook Group for Shakespeare on Toast - Getting a Taste for the Bard. Search, join, and whether you love Shakespeare or hate him, let me hear from you...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
March 13th, 2008
Apologies for the hiatus in updates, it's been a rather busy couple of months... See below...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
March 13th, 2008
The biggest news I have on offer - and much of the reason for the recent hibernation - is that my first solo book, Shakespeare on Toast - Getting a Taste for the Bard, will be published by the incredibly nice people at Icon Books in September. Take a look at the Writing page for more; follow the links there to pre-order it from Amazon, to hit the book's website (which is being written as I type), or to watch a video I made for MeetTheAuthor.com, which features ME talking about exactly why the book is brilliant, and why it's so different from every other book on Shakespeare...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
March 12th, 2008
Performed for the Liar's League monthly reading of new writing. Reading Emily Cleaver's The Frog. Clip here...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
March 11th, 2008
Narrated the upcoming (screening on the BBC in the early hours of April 1st / 8th) BBC Bitesize Key Stage 3 English revision programmes! I get to hold forth about Shakespeare AND teach the wee nippers. See the Voice page...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
March 5th, 2008
Worked with the hugely talented Kevin Curtis, making two short films, Click and Hero. See them on the Acting page...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
February 26th, 2008
Recorded a TV advert for The Guardian newspaper's Guide to DIY. Click here to have a listen...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
February 14th, 2008
Escaped the Valentine's madness, and find myself in Eindhoven, south Holland, to lecture student theatre technicians on how to get into Shakespeare... Obviously.
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
December 2007 - January 2008
Hibernating in writer's garrett...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
November 17th, 2007
Performed in two Beckett plays, Ohio Impromptu and Rough for Theatre 2, at the Capital Centre, Warwick, for Fail Better Productions. See Acting page...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
November 4th, 2007
Having recorded the narration in Amsterdam for a rather lush-looking new documentary, Cymbalom Legacy (directed by Mano Amani) will be shown as part of the 2nd London Gypsy Film Festival, at the Ritzy Picture House, on Nov 4th at 6.30pm. Click here to listen to a clip of the narration, or see Mano's website for a teaser...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
October 22nd 2007
A Speaking Shakespeare podcast, recorded after the 3rd British Shakespeare Association panel I spoke on (see below, August 31st), featuring a blast of Original Pronunciation from yours truly, is now online. Click here to listen...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
October 7th 2007
Gallows Hill Inn, a radio play from the stable of Bunbury Banter and featuring the vocal talents of yours truly as The Traveller, will be aired Sunday 7th on 91.8 Hayes FM, and streamed live here. Air time within the 11:30-12:00pm slot...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
September 25th 2007
Will Sutton, a very fine actor and equally fine friend, knows all 154 of Shakespeare's Sonnets off by heart. Check the Back To Aristotle entry on his also rather fine blog...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
September 16th 2007
The Real Godfather (see Voice page) airs tonight, BBC2 9pm.
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
September 14th 2007
Money, the first of the radio plays I recorded with Bunbury Banter, will be aired Sunday 16th on 91.8 Hayes FM, and streamed live here. Exact time tbc...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
August 31st 2007
Speaking at the British Shakespeare Association, on a panel on Speaking Shakespeare, together with RSC actor Patrice Naiambana, RSC actor Janet Dale, and the broadcaster & writer Paul Allen.
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
August 30th 2007
Recorded a series of radio plays, with Bunbury Banter, a new radio drama company. The specially commissioned scripts were a mix of new and old folk tales, and used Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Grimm's Fairy Tales as a starting point. Details of airplay and some clips will follow shortly...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
August 21st 2007
Narrated the All About Elephants audiobook for the children's book series My Animal Kingdom, voicing the Elephant too. See Voice Page. I love my job.
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
August 17th 2007
Delving into the underworld, recorded the voice-dub for Rome Duomo, an Italian agent who was working undercover in the bust of the The Real Godfather, due to be aired September on BBC2, narrated by Steven Mackintosh. Air date to follow...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
July 24th 2007
It's 2am, and I've spent the last couple of hours in a circus tent 3 hours north of Vienna, somewhere in the south-east of the Czech Republic, reciting Shakespeare Sonnets in English to a crowd of over 200 Czechs, most of whom were under the age of 25 and all completely rapt. Electric atmosphere... Picture of me looking thoughtful before launching into one of the Sonnets, now on the Gallery...
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
July 18th 2007
Preparing to go to the Czech Summer Film School Festival to perform a selection of Shakespeare’s sonnets, and introduce the spectacular film Korol Lir (King Lear), by Korintsev. Where on earth is Uherské Hradište??
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
June 23rd 2007
Finished the sell-out 3 week run of Caligula at the Union Theatre. See Gallery.
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal Diary
June 13th 2007
Caligula has opened with great success! Receiving Critics' Choice from Time Out, and great notices:
"Pride of place, though, has to be given to the interaction at the heart of the play between Caligula and his other-self, the poet Scipio (Ben Crystal), who watches over all. It is through the eyes of Scipio that we see Caligula's psychological torment, and Crystal's finely judged characterization manages to convey exactly the right mix of empathy and detachment. It is a part which requires a lot of reaction, and in his eyes we see Caligula's pain. The meeting of minds between these two is stunning. Great theatre."
posted on the New York Times website
Ben Crystal Diary
Ben Crystal