Like many of the acts we interview and recommend, we first came across Ben Moor’s work up at the Edinburgh Festival a long time ago, and have delighted in it every time he’s performed there. 

Most recently, we were very taken with his latest piece of storytelling theatre, ‘A Three Thing Day’, which he staged at the 2025 edfringe, and were very pleased to hear that it would be making an appearance in London this month. 

It felt like a very appropriate time for a catch-up with Ben, so I arranged a chat ahead of his upcoming dates at Hen & Chickens. 

CM: Can you start by telling us about the content of ‘A Three Thing Day’? Who or what is it about and where does the narrative take us?
BM: Sure. Like all my shows the narrator may or may not be a version of myself.

In this piece he is recalling a day when he had something in the morning – a friend’s funeral – something in the afternoon – a family visit – and something in the evening – the opening of a new work called ‘A Periodic Table Of The Elephants In The Room’. 

The story follows the day’s journeys and times spent at these places, and covers a whole lot of other sets of three things: family, friends and strangers; the past, the present and the future; work, home, travel etc.

It’s very funny, but thoughtful too – there are moments that are a little sad, but also others that are hopeful, confusing and weird, like life.

CM: What would you say are the primary themes of it?
BM: I don’t know if there are any primary themes apart from the way time is an illusion. We might be in one moment, and suddenly something reminds us of the past, or we are thrust into imagining a possible future.

It’s full of the little stories that make up our days – things we notice and share, other things that we reflect upon internally. I like to make my audiences work quite hard, keeping them listening and focusing on an array of concepts.

My shows are very dense with offbeat gags and one-liners, then a poetic image, followed by a piece of reflection about something out of left field. I’d say it’s really a show about affinity – understanding each other and accepting we are all part of each other’s lives. It’s also about finding a charger cable for a lousy phone. 

CM: What was the inspiration for this?
BM: My shows often begin with a question or a moment, and I force myself to build a narrative around it, going forwards and backwards and sideways to create a story that feels truthful but couldn’t be told by anyone else. 

My process is quite baffling for others, but I believe stories tell themselves through the teller – each time they emerge they show a new side to themselves, new questions arise, new answers are discovered.

After the dreamlike road trip in ‘Who Here’s Lost?’ that might have lasted a few days or many years, I wanted to structure a piece in a single day – there’s still flashbacks and flashforwards, time is an illusion, as I’ve mentioned – but placing everything in a sequence felt like a good discipline.

All three events come from my experiences – for example, there’s a train trip which is based on the journey to the Laugharne Weekend in 2023.

CM: How important is the element of humour in your storytelling? Do the funny things find their way in organically or do you consciously strive for it?
BM: Oh, there’s always going to be jokes.

I have tried to write serious things but I always undermine them by seeing something funny, either in the situation or from a character’s perspective. We couldn’t be human without finding ourselves and the world a little ridiculous.

Saying that, over the years I have got bolder in allowing the more poignant moments time to breathe, and I think audiences appreciate a short section of thoughtfulness and mid-tempo moments. 

CM: How do you go about putting one of your shows together? Can you tell us a bit about the creative process?
BM: I start off with a moment or a question, either from something I’ve observed or experienced, or can imagine. I then build around it with other ideas I’ve already considered that will create the world.

I have a mad list of misheard sentences, one-liners, poetic images and just utter nonsense that I call The Resource. All the ideas are numbered – there are over 4000 at the last count – and when I’m thinking about a situation or location or character I can find something in the document and note down a relevant number.

A scene at a restaurant could feature numbers 205, 1576, 2354 and 3008, for example. And then when I go off the hand-written page to the computer, these lines get expanded into paragraphs or conversations. 

There’s much more to it obviously, there’s a whole process. When I teach this technique I get looks of bafflement at the beginning, but eventually people accept that it’s a smart way for a voice to come out.

Your imagination is the best filter you have for the way you see the world and for the way you express this vision. Please drop me a line if you’d like to know more and apologies in advance if it makes no sense.

CM: You were back at the Fringe this year, after a shorter gap than the previous one – do you think you’ll go more regularly again in the future?
BM: The nine-year gap between ‘Each of Us’ in 2013 and ‘Who Here’s Lost?’ in 2022 wasn’t entirely deliberate.

I’d created my lecture about cartoons, ‘Pronoun Trouble’, in 2017, written the author event parody ‘BookTalkBookTalkBook’ for me and Joanna Neary in 2018, and previewed ‘Who Here’s Lost?’ in 2019 all at the Port Eliot Festival. 

The plan was to bring runs of all three to the 2020 Fringe, but that didn’t happen here on Earth C-19, and so in 2022 those other two shows only got two performances each, which is a shame as they’re both a lot of fun. And ‘Who Here’s Lost?’ could have gone better. 

I always write my new shows in sections and perform works-in-progress and gave myself a hard deadline for the Fringe this year, and it worked out nicely.

I’m definitely touring ‘A Three Thing Day’ for a while, but haven’t got a plan for a new piece yet – they do take a while to create something that is different and a development artistically.

Maybe I’ll bring back one of the older shows, but possibly not in 2026.

CM: How did the most recent edfringe run go? Does the Fringe get easier or harder the more you do it?
BM: It was great! I had a fab crew and lovely audiences and spoke to so many people afterwards while selling the book of the show. It was great to hear everyone’s favourite lines from the show – almost always different. 

I was super-lucky with the venue and timeslot, and spent a lot of time out on the Royal Mile flyering. ThreeWeeks was one of only four publications that came to review the show – thank you!

I saw lots of shows as well – recommending everything on social media with my Accoladles, the premiere spoon-based award in the arts.

These go to the Equal Best Show on the Fringe and I award them to shows I’ve seen – all other shows are also Equal Best, everyone is equally worthy so everyone gets prizes. Winners were expected to cradle their own ladle as if it was an award. 

My first fringe was in 1988 and it’s still as exciting and exhausting as ever. I tried to see shows by folk who were flyering the same time as me and caught some absolute gems. There was a particular American student show performed with such sincerity and talent it left me a soggy weeping mess.

CM: I’ve asked you before what hopes and aims you have for the future – but are there any updates? Are there any new long term ambitions?
BM: I turn up in U&Drama’s version of ‘The Count Of Monte Cristo’ playing M Beauchamp, a kindly newspaper editor with excellent sideburns.

I always love to mix up the solo shows – which can sometimes be a little lonely, by definition – with projects with larger casts.

Last year Joanna and I took ‘BookTalkBookTalkBook’ to Paris where we performed it at the wonderful bookshop Shakespeare And Company, and that show should have a nice future as we look and feel more and more like authors every year. 

I’m always volunteering at Scene And Heard, the mentoring charity where theatre professionals work with the children of Somers Town in London to create the funniest, weirdest, most truthful theatre out there.

I’ve never been awfully ambitious as I’m always more interested in the adventure than the goal – just meeting brilliant people and sharing fantastic work is a reward in itself.

CM: What’s happening next with ‘A Three Thing Day’?
BM: The book of ‘A Three Thing Day (and other things)’ has gone really well; I sold out twice at the Fringe and I’m selling that on my website and after performances.

The show is on in London, Salford, Staffordshire and Bristol this autumn and in Farsley in February and I should have more dates in 2026.

The plan is to perform it a few times alongside Simon Oakes and Suns Of The Tundra who created the musical interludes and atmospheres for the piece, hopefully at festivals next summer – we may be able to record it for download too.

CM: Do you have a new project in the pipeline?
BM: Nothing as yet, but hopefully soon. The adventures continue!

Ben performs ‘A Three Thing Day’ at Hen & Chickens from 23-24 Oct, see the venue here for more information and to book. You can also catch him on tour in the coming weeks in Salford, Stone and Bristol – booking links here.  

LINKS: linktr.ee/benmoor | unrestrictedview.co.uk