Jack Parris is a member of the darkly comedic Bunkum Ensemble. Jack won the Pleasance’s Charlie Hattill Fund, which gave him the ability to bring his new show, The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The show that features hefty powerpoints, puppetry, ants and an all powerful lanyard. We caught up with Jack to find out more.
How would you pitch The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager to fans of superhero movies?
So in the trailer there would be a big voice. The voice would say’ARE YOU READY FOR THE END OF WORK BEN?’ It would then cut to a close up of Ben Manager looking forlorn in front of an email thread. His lanyard would start to vibrate. He’d look down, and then grasp it before grabbing his jaw and writhing around on the floor. A colleague played by Scarlett Johansson would come over and ask if Ben was ok. He would gather himself together and feign strength. But inside he is terrified and as we zoom into his sweat framed brown we see a reflection of a big black rock that thrums menacingly in his pupils.
And how would you pitch it to someone who really liked Severance?
There’s a lot of weird overlap, despite writing it before I’d watched the show. I’d say exactly the same but it’s about about a severance that happened in childhood. Plus there’s live music and we don’t have budget for Christopher Walken
Why do we have so much nostalgia for childhood?
Because that’s where nostalgia lives. With my school friends. And on french campsites. And in the garden with the sprinkler on. It doesn’t live at my desk. Or in my emails. OR my to-do list. Not yet anyway
Is the age of the office coming to an end? Will we all work from home in the future?
No. Who will buy all the sandwiches from Pret? Capitalism needs us out of the house.
What’s the hardest thing you’ve done to get this show made?
Get up consistently before the child to write it and produce it.
How similar is this to other projects you’ve worked on?
Our shows are made using improvisation between music and physical action, so it’s similar in that respect. And our shows are dark and satirical and musical, so it’s pretty much got all the elements of a Bunkum show.
What is your favourite moment in the show?
I quite like getting slapped around by a tiny child puppet. Some stuff to work through there.
What’s next?
More shows. And we’re working on a new show called Honey Fungus which is about a giant orange mushroom that invades a town and starts giving everybody everything they ever dreamed of.
The Office (UK) or The Office (USA)?
Got to be the British Office, I do love the US version though
The Simpsons or Futurama?
Simpsons all day long
Truth or Beauty?
Sort of a trick questions that one. Can I have both?
The Unstoppable Rise Of Ben Manager runs from 30th Jul – 25th Aug. You can book tickets here.
Check out our features on 2025’s Top Returning shows, and our keenly anticipated picks of new shows.
