Benjamin Till
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Benjamin Till (born 8 August 1974) is a multi-award-winning English composer, director and film maker.


Early years

Till was born in
Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...
, Shropshire, and spent much of his childhood in the
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
town of
Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and had a population of 8,82 ...
. He attended the Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust (NMPAT) and sang in the Northamptonshire County Youth Choir.


Education

He studied music and composition at
The University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
, then trained on the directing course at London's Mountview Theatre School.


Composing


Mosaic Voices

Till is the Composer in Residence for Mosaic Voices, a British vocal ensemble specialising in music from the Jewish tradition based at New West End Synagogue in
Bayswater Bayswater is an area in the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
, London. He also sings as baritone in the ensemble. Mosaic Voices' most recent album, ''Letter To Kamilla'', (released by
Chandos Records Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.top 5 album in the official UK Classical Music charts
and was described by ''Gramophone magazine'' a
"moving but never mawkish"
and by ''BBC Music Magazine'' a
"sung with power and passion... simply heartbreaking."
Till has written over fifty original compositions for the ensemble and arranged or re-scored more than one hundred further pieces. His composition, Time, was performed in January 2024. It tells the story of The New West End Synagogue through newspaper reports, mostly from the Jewish Chronicle. His setting of Psalm 23 (The Lord's My Shepherd) was turned into a short film which documented the lives of UK Jewish People during lockdown. This film won a Sandford St Martin Trustees Awardhttps://www.theus.org.uk/article/jewish-composer-and-synagogue-choir-win-top-broadcasting-award, Sandford St Martin Trustees Award


Nene

In 2016, Till was commissioned by NMPAT (Northamptonshire Music and Performing Arts Trust) to compose a major orchestral and choral work about the
River Nene The River Nene ( or ) flows through the counties of Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk in Eastern England from its sources in Arbury Hill in Northamptonshire. Flowing Northeast through East England to its mouth at Lutt ...
, which flows through his childhood home town of
Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and had a population of 8,82 ...
. The composition was scored for 800 musicians and premiered at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
in 2017, before being performed at Northampton's Derngate Theatre and
Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Church ...
. His composition follows the river from its source in
Badby Badby is a village and a rural parish of about in West Northamptonshire, England.- OS Explorer Map 207: Newport Pagnell & Northampton South (1:25 000) Location Badby is about 2 miles (3 km) south of Daventry, on the A361 Daventry to Ban ...
all the way to the sea (100 miles away) in Norfolk. The piece quotes tradition folk melodies from towns and villages along the river, and explores ghost stories, myths and legends associated with the Nene. Till also musicalises the sounds of the river and its associated wildlife, including the calls of
red kites The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds only in Europe, though it formerly also bred ...
.


The Pepys Motet

In 2010, St. Olave's Church, where
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
is buried, commissioned Till to write a 40-part motet to mark the 350th anniversary of Pepys' beginning to write his diary. Four of the six movements were performed live in November 2010 at St. Olave's. The fourth movement, ''The Great Fire'', was broadcast on
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
's ''In Tune'' programme, whilst ''The Pepys Motet'' was re-scored for 20 voices and recorded and released by Hind Style Records in 2016.


''The London Requiem''

Completed in 2012, ''The London Requiem'' is a setting of gravestone inscriptions which Till found in cemeteries across London. This ten-movement work is scored for string orchestra, string quartet, four percussionists and three keyboard players, alongside full SATB choir and soloists. The work was featured on The Space, a pilot BBC project. Ten short films were created for each of the movements, and subsequently a live performance of the full piece was broadcast from
Abney Park Cemetery Abney Park cemetery is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries in London, England. Abney Park in Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney is a historic parkland originally laid out in the early 18th century by Lady Mary Abney, D ...
. ''The London Requiem'' was recorded in 2012 and featured the
Balanescu Quartet Balanescu Quartet is an avant-garde String instrument, string ensemble formed in 1987. Current members are Alexander Bălănescu (violin), Yuri Kalnits (violin), Úna Palliser (viola) and Nick Holland (cello). Group history The quartet has ro ...
and soloists including
Maddy Prior Madeleine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk rock singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the p ...
,
Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer and television host. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain (TV series), Little Britain'' (2003–2006) ...
,
Tanita Tikaram Tanita Tikaram (born 12 August 1969) is a British Pop music, pop/folk music, folk singer-songwriter. She achieved chart success with the singles "Twist in My Sobriety" and "Good Tradition" from her 1988 debut album, ''Ancient Heart''. Backgrou ...
and
Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.
.


Oranges and Lemons

In early 2009, Till recorded all the bells mentioned in the nursery rhyme, "
Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earliest ...
" (two hundred bells in seventeen London churches), and wrote a piece of music to feature them all playing in harmony, alongside a choir of people who live or work in one of the areas around the churches. This twelve-minute composition, which included 4000 individual bell strikes was featured on BBC Radio 3's ''In Tune'' and
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's ''
Today Programme ''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is BBC Radio 4's long-running morning news and current-affairs radio programme. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 09:00 (starting on Saturday at 07:00), it is produced by BB ...
'',www.bbc.co.uk – Today Programme
Today Programme – Coverage of Oranges and Lemons
alongside in depth coverage by
BBC London BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London, Surrey and parts of the surrounding areas of the Home Counties. Its output includes the daily '' BBC London'' news bulletin and w ...
,www.bbc.co.uk – BBC London online
BBC London – Coverage of Oranges and Lemons
www.bbc.co.uk – BBC News
BBC News – Coverage of Oranges and Lemons
www.bbc.co.uk – BBC News
BBC News – Coverage of Oranges and Lemons
who sponsored the piece with
Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...
. The piece received its premiere performance on 11 July 2009 at St. Mary le Bow Church, London. Benjamin Till's various compositions also include some liturgical Jewish works for ''a cappella'' male vocal ensemble, commissioned by Mosaic Voices, the resident choir at the New West End Synagogue, of which he is a member.


Theatre work


''Brass''

In 2014, Till was commissioned by the
National Youth Music Theatre The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) is an arts organisation in the United Kingdom providing pre-professional education and musical theatre stage experience for young people. Based in London, it is constituted as a private limited company (or ...
to create a new musical to commemorate the centenary of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. ''Brass'' has book, music and lyrics by Till, with additional lyrics by Sir Arnold Wesker and Nathan Taylor. The show premiered in August 2014 at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall and tells the story of a group of men from a Leeds-based brass band who sign up to fight as part of the Leeds Pals
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
, and their women folk who decide to learn the instruments the men have left behind in the hope of playing triumphantly for them on their return from war. The show, directed by
Sara Kestelman Sara Kestelman (born 12 May 1944) is an English actress, who is known for her role as Lady Frances Brandon, Lady Jane Grey's mother, in the 1986 film '' Lady Jane'', as well as for providing the voice of Kreia in '' Star Wars Knights of the Ol ...
and choreographed by Matt Flint, went on to win Best Musical at the
UK Theatre Awards The UK Theatre Awards, established in 1991 and known before 2011 as the TMA Awards, are presented annually by UK Theatre (formerly the Theatrical Management Association) in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in regional thea ...
2014. A cast recording was released the following year. ''Brass ''was later revived by the NYMT in a new production at the
Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "the most beautiful theat ...
in August 2016, directed by Hannah Chissick, and was met with rave reviews, especially from Theatre Critic and Associate Editor of ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
'',
Mark Shenton Mark Shenton (born 12 September 1962 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a London-based British arts journalist and theatre critic. Between April 2002 and December 2013 he was chief Theatre Critic for the '' Sunday Express''. He formerly wrote a d ...
, who said the show was a "magnificent miracle of a musical...with epic sweep and originality." From 31 October to 24 November 2018, the show received its professional premiere in a new production at the Union Theatre, directed by
Sasha Regan Sasha Regan (née Leask) is an English theatre director. In 1998, she founded the Union Theatre, London, a small fringe venue on the premises of a disused paper warehouse on Union Street in the London borough of Southwark. As of November 2020, s ...
, the theatre's founder and artistic director. The production received a full complement of four and five-star reviews.
Michael Arditti Michael Arditti is an English writer. He has written twelve novels, including ''Easter'', ''The Enemy of the Good'', ''Jubilate'' and ''The Breath of Night'', and also a collection of short stories, ''Good Clean Fun''. His most recent novel, '' ...
in the ''
Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...
'' wrote "Benjamin Till's rich, melodious score, its influences, ranging from
Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as "The Boy ...
to
Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
, powerfully conveys the fervour, horror and heartbreak both in the trenches and at home". The production was nominated for five Offies. Brass is published by Rodgers and Hammerstein Theatricals.


Em

In 2017, Till wrote the musical ''Em'', set in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1965, which tells the story of a woman who is trying to keep a baby born out of wedlock, which the authorities want to take away from her. The musical was performed by
Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...
, and subsequently released as a cast album.


Other theatre

* ''
Alice Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...
'' (Fox Theatre,
Palmers Green Palmers Green is a suburban area and electoral ward in north London, England, within the London Borough of Enfield. It is located within the N13 postcode district, around north of Charing Cross. It is home to the largest population of Greek Cy ...
, 1996 and
Blewbury Blewbury is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs section of the North Wessex Downs about south of Didcot, south of Oxford and west of London. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it t ...
Theatre,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, 2002 – director, adaptor and composer) * ''Someone Whistled'' an opera (Pleasance Theatre, May 1997 – Composer, director) * ''An Evening of Opera Excerpts'' ( Royal Theatre, Northampton, August 1997 – director) * ''
Madam Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luth ...
'' (
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
and Tour, 1998 and 2000 – assistant director) * ''
Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...
'' (Royal Albert Hall and NIA, January–March 2001 – assistant director) * ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...
'' (
Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London, England. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a G ...
, December 2001 – assistant director) *
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...
's ''
Taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
'' (West End, 2001–2003 – resident director) *
Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...
's ''
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'' (
Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...
,
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
, 2002 – assistant director) * ''Little Lil'' (
Hen and Chickens Theatre The Hen and Chickens Theatre is a fringe venue for theatre and comedy situated above a pub at Highbury in the London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming par ...
, May 2003 – director) * ''Little By Little'' (
Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. It opened on April 20, 1927. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre cen ...
, London, July 2004 – director) * ''Brass'' ( Bernie Grant Theatre, November 2018 - director) In 1997, Till was approached by playwright Sir Arnold Wesker to collaborate with him on a one-woman musical play that he had written in 1990. The piece was called ''Letter to a Daughter'', and the UK premiere opened at the
Assembly Rooms In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done at home and there wer ...
in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
on Till's birthday, 8 August 1998.


Film and television


Casting

From 2004 to 2006, Till worked as a casting assistant to casting director
Shaheen Baig Shaheen Baig (born 3 April 1972) (Urdu:شاہین بیگ) is a Pakistani mountaineer. He is the co-founder of Shimshal Mountaineering School and gives technical training in mountain climbing along with Qudrat Ali. Additionally, he is a noteworth ...
, and worked on such films as ''
Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlling ...
'', '' Notes on a Scandal'', ''
Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...
'' and ''
28 Weeks Later ''28 Weeks Later'' is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. It serves as a standalone sequel to '' 28 Days Later'' (20 ...
'', the last of which he also worked on closely with the two young leads,
Imogen Poots Imogen Gay Poots (born 3 June 1989) is an English actress. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film ''28 Weeks Later'' (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic ''Jimi: All Is by My Side'' (2013), Debbie Raymond in the Paul Ray ...
and Mackintosh Muggleton.


BBC films

In early 2005, he submitted a pitch to BBC London News, who were looking for people to make a two-minute short film on the subject of "Untold London." The pitch was for a musical film featuring the different communities who use and enjoy
Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...
. Till was one of ten directors chosen to make their films,www.bbc.co.uk – Untold London
Untold London Success Stories
and ''Hampstead Heath: The Musical'' was born. The film was nominated for a
Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
award. BBC producer Penny Wrout then commissioned him to make a three-minute musical film for the
Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...
telethon, showcasing the bizarre and wacky ways that people were raising money for the popular charity: the film was shown twice during the telethon in November that year.


''The Busker Symphony'' (2006)

In 2006, Till made four short films for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's ''Three-Minute Wonder'' season. The project was called ''The Busker Symphony'', and a four-movement piece he composed was performed by buskers past and present at various locations around London. Each film featured one movement from the Symphony, variously entitled ''Andante'', ''Adagio'', ''Scherzo'' and ''Finalé'': the films were broadcast in April 2006.


''A1: the Road Musical'' (2008)

In April 2008, Till started work on his largest-scale project to date, ''A1: the Road Musical'', again for Channel 4. The half-hour film was produced by
Endemol Endemol B.V. (stylized in all lowercase) was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted gen ...
, and followed a lorry driver's journey up the A1, from London to Edinburgh, during which he met various people along the way; they all tell their stories, either in song or set to a specially composed soundtrack. The film starts with Londoners singing their thoughts while stuck in city traffic, then further up the road a young Polish man is introduced: he is deliberating whether or not to leave England and return to Poland. We then meet a woman who was involved in a severe car accident and the mysterious stranger who helped her, a choir of ex-miners lamenting the demise of the coal industry, a young man who lost his brother in an accident on the A1, two motorbikers railing at the government red tape that threatens to stifle people's independence and a
Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...
resident who is campaigning to have the Scottish border redrawn to make his town part of
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, where he feels it rightly belongs. The film was broadcast on 29 August 2008, and became the fourth most-praised programme aired on Channel 4 that month, based on telephone calls to the station to congratulate the makers.Broadcastnow.com
Details of the top ten most praised programmes shown on Channel 4 in August 2008


''Coventry Market: The Musical'' (2008)

On 4 November 2008,
BBC CWR BBC CWR (Coventry & Warwickshire Radio) is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Coventry and Warwickshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV, and via BBC Sounds from studio ...
screened the premiere of ''Coventry Market: The Musical'',www.bbc.co.uk – Coventry Market: The Musical
Film Premiere
a film made by Till to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the town's indoor market. Drawing on the whole community surrounding the market, and those who work in it or patronise it, the film spawned a large multi-platform project, with many radio hours dedicated to its creation, and the stories of some of those featured in it. In addition, there were associated online blogsCoventry Market Blog
Diary for the Coventry Market: The Musical project.
and news documentaries shown in the region.


''Metro: The Musical'' (2011)

On 24 March 2011,
BBC Look North ''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England: * '' BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region * '' BBC Look North'' for the BBC Yorkshire region * '' BBC L ...
, premiered Till's ''Metro: The Musical''. The work celebrated 30 years of the
Tyne and Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The owners Nexus have ...
carrying the North-Eastern community from the busy epicentre of
Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
to the sunny coast of
Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...
, or the bustling runways of Newcastle Airport. It featured a cast of 180 – all of whom have worked or been passengers on the network since 1980 – sharing their stories.


''Our Gay Wedding: The Musical'' (2014)

On 29 March 2014, Till married his long-term partner Nathan Taylor, in the process becoming one of the first same-sex couples to get married in the UK. They were married in a musical, which was commissioned by Channel 4, in Alexandra Palace Theatre and broadcast two days after the wedding itself. The multi-award-winning film received wide praise. Ed Power, writing in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' said it was "more powerful than anything all the romcom writers in the world could have put together". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
s
Tim Dowling Robert Timothy Dowling (; born June 1963) is an American journalist and author who writes a weekly column in ''The Guardian'' about his life with his family in London. Career Dowling worked in data entry for a films database before he became a fr ...
wrote "When I say I cried I cried all the way through ..an hour of unbridled joy, an inventive and wholly appropriate way to celebrate the advent of equal marriage ..better than perfect, it was fabulous." In
Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
, Simon Swift reviewed it as "The wedding that was better than Kate and Will's ..a heartwarming, uplifting, tear-jerking celebration of gay marriage ..Best. Wedding. Ever."


''100 Faces'' (2018)

In 2018, Benjamin made the film ''100 Faces'' which features 100 Jewish British people, one born every year between 1918 and 2017. Some sing, some speak, all state what being Jewish means to them in a single sentence. The film is accompanied by a soundtrack recorded by th
Israel Camerata
orchestra. The film was premiered at th
UK Jewish Film Festival
in 2018 and has subsequently been screened in festivals around the world. In 2019, it shared the gold prize at the prestigiou
Robinson Short Film Awards


Awards


Radio

Till worked with long-term friend Sir Arnold Wesker again in 2007, when he was asked to write the featured song (to Wesker's lyrics) and incidental music for Wesker's radio play, ''The Rocking Horse'', commissioned by the
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
to celebrate theirs and Wesker's 75th birthday.www.bbc.co.uk
BBC World Service – 2007, 75th Anniversary
The play was aired in November 2007.


Personal life

Benjamin Till is married to actor and knitting guru Nathan Taylor. The couple live in London. In 2023 he burst into tears at being told his hand luggage was too large to take on board a plane.
BBC web article


References


External links


Official websitewww.bbc.co.uk/coventry/people/coventry_market_musical/
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire's Coventry Market project {{DEFAULTSORT:Till, Benjamin 1974 births Living people 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century English LGBTQ people Alumni of the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Alumni of the University of York English film directors English LGBTQ composers English male composers English musical theatre composers People from Oswestry