Review: The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager, EdFringe

You never really know what to expect at a fringe show and The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager is a prime example of coming across a unique and individual gem. This year’s winner of the Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Fund, it’s the tale of Ben Weaver, a slightly below average man who unexpectedly has a meteoric rise to the top. 

On his way to a job interview organised for him by his mum, Ben appropriates the lanyard from a dead man called Ben Manager who has fallen with a messy splat from an office tower known as the Monolith. Through the power of the lanyard, Ben gets the job, appropriates the name on it, and his life becomes a bizarre world of corporate gibberish. He works incessantly to gain promotion—without actually doing any real work, merely generating ‘groundbreaking’ PowerPoint presentations. The higher he rises, the less he does. But he’s ‘gaining traction’, ‘meeting his KPIs’, wallowing in corporate acronyms, learning that the rest of the workforce is entirely expendable. While their underlings toil, the bosses are enjoying themselves, connecting with their inner child, playing, reading books and generally having fun.

This is a hugely entertaining, totally absurd production that will have you laughing out loud. It’s polished nonsense with more than a hint of Douglas Adams and The Office to it. Writer Jack Parris plays Ben in an outstanding physical performance. He’s a fabulous storyteller — hilariously animated and with superb comic timing. He also has no qualms at all about dressing up as a giant leafcutter ant. What is going on in his head to produce this work?? Genius bordering on insanity perhaps.

The show is partially a live scored PowerPoint presentation, with music and sound effects superbly delivered by work colleagues Mike Coxhead and Adam Boothroyd from their office (mixing) desks. Disembodied voices of those in charge are distorted and manipulated, accentuating the idea of a corporate disconnection from reality and leaving us wondering who is actually in control? Indeed, one of Ben’s colleagues is portrayed as merely a blank-faced puppet — a template version in a suit, operated with sinuous skill by Paulina Krzeczkowska, who also plays a seriously disturbing CEO. The performance throughout is pacy and dynamic; snapping between outrageous scenarios to colourfully reflect a fragmented, ludicrous world.

The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager beautifully captures the futility of work life and the disturbing psychological impact of a corporate environment that can generate real monsters. It’s highly recognisable and an enormously funny production.

Produced by Bunkum Ensemble and Pleasance
Written by Jack Parris

The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager runs at Pleasance Grand until Monday 25 August as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.