Ben Power is a British

dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. Since 2010 he has primarily worked at the National Theatre. He adapted Stefano Massini's play '' The Lehman Trilogy'' for the National Theatre in 2018. It transferred to the West End and Broadway, where it won the 2022

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Play. His screenplays include the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

adaptation of

Robert Harris (novelist) Robert Dennis Harris CBE (born 7 March 1957) is a British novelist and former journalist. Although he began his career in journalism and non-fiction, he is best known for his works of historical fiction. Beginning with the best-seller ''Fatherl ...

' '' Munich - The Edge of War'' and several parts of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

series ''

The Hollow Crown (TV series) ''The Hollow Crown'' is a series of British television film adaptations of William Shakespeare's history plays. The first series is an adaptation of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy, the Henriad: '' Richard II'', ''Henry IV, Part 1'', ...

''. His screen adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s Blood on Snow will be filmed by director Cary Fukunaga in 2025. He studied English at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Before joining the National Theatre he worked with Rupert Goold as Associate Director of Headlong Theatre. He was dramaturg and Literary Associate on ''A Disappearing Number'' for Complicite, which won the 2007

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

, Critics’ Circle and Olivier awards for Best Play. In 2011 he wrote the adaptation of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's epic ''Emperor and Galilean'' for the National Theatre. Between 2013 and 2016 he oversaw the National Theatre's temporary space, The Shed. His new version of

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

' ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'', starring Helen McCrory in the eponymous role, ran at the National Theatre from July to September 2014. In 2015 he was appointed deputy artistic director of the National Theatre; the role had not previously existed. In 2016 he condensed three works by D. H. Lawrence into a single play, presented as ''Husbands and Sons'' in the National's Dorfman theatre. In 2024 he adapted

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...

Our Mutual Friend ''Our Mutual Friend'', published in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by English author Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. ...

into ''London Tide'', a play with songs by

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

. It ran in the Lyttelton Theatre, directed by

Ian Rickson Ian David Rickson (born 1963) is a British theatre director. He was the artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1998 to 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power, Ben Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British dramatists and playwrights British male dramatists and playwrights Tony Award winners