Ben Elton will be awarded with a custom-made Morph at this year’s Slapstick Festival and Bristol Live has an exclusive first look at the sculpted creation.
Stand-up comedian, scriptwriter, actor, author and musicals-maker, Ben, will become the latest recipient of the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award, honoured for his work in the world of comedy. The model makers at Aardman have been busy creating the personalised Morph, which will be given to Ben at this year’s festival in an event which will mark the finale of the event programme (which spans some 35 individual events in total).
It will be part of the 20th birthday edition of Bristol’s annual Slapstick Festival, which is the UK’s biggest festival of silent and classic screen comedy. One of the major themes of this year’s event is spoofs, satire and parody, which is something Ben Elton knows all too well.
He was part of London’s alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, becoming a writer on sitcoms The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as continuing his stand-up career on stage and television. Speaking to BristolLive ahead of the festival (which runs from Wednesday, February 12, to Sunday, February 16, at venues around the city centre), Ben said: “I’m genuinely thrilled. This award comes from people who love and honour comedy and so clearly it’s very flattering they’ve picked me.”
In an exclusive first look photo of Ben’s custom-made Morph, the Aardman model makers have so far created a great likeness to the comedy legend, whose Morph character boasts glasses, sweeping brown hair, and a stylish suit, while holding a microphone as if in the midst of a stand-up comedy routine. Not yet completely finished, at time of writing, Ben’s Morph still needs to be secured onto a fancier base and adorned with other finishing touches.
Ben added that he will be celebrating his award right here in the city, adding: “I love the history [of Bristol] and love to visit the SS Gt Britain and walk around the docks. Bristol is still at the cutting edge of both history (with the toppling of the Colston Statue) and culture.”
And when it comes to what’s next for Ben Elton, the star went on to say: “My tour – Authentic Stupidity – is keeping me busy until early March. I always have a number of projects on the go but I can’t say too much about those at the moment.
“I’ve been very lucky in my career and have achieved a lot – 16 novels, four West End plays, four West End musicals, TV shows, as well as stand up. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with my heroes – Queen – when they asked me to write their musical ‘We Will Rock You’. What an honour. I’m quite content with my lot.”
At Ben Elton’s award ceremony, messages and anecdotes from an abundance of stars in the industry will be played out, all honouring the newly awarded ‘Aardman legend’. These include the likes of Queen guitarist Brian May, Sir Stephen Fry, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Michael Palin, and Dame Emma Thompson, to name but a few.
You can see the full Slapstick 20th anniversary itinerary on its official website, or read more about the festival here.