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"Twelve!"
An ordinary man receives a nuisance phonecall that just says the word 'Twelve!'
A couple of weeks later comes another that says 'Eleven!'
Then there’s 'Ten!'
What's going on? Is someone counting down to the end of his life? This is the story of his misadventures as he tries to avoid anything and everything. Miniature clones of the Pope, Franz Kafka fans, vengeful wasps and cross country rally dancing come into it too.
And who are Mister and Missus Clemons?
Originally performed as a solo stage comedy piece at the 1996 Edinburgh Fringe, this is a bizarre conceptual safari, full of groany jokes and wistful moments.
Reviews for the stage show of “Twelve!”:
Ben Moor's one man play, “Twelve!” was brilliant, sporting more jokes and witty lines in a single hour than a whole series of Red Dwarf.
SFX MAGAZINE
Nothing is normal in Ben Moor's latest monologue; all the audience can hope to do is to keep up as he goes further and further off the wall.
Not only deeply funny, but also oddly eloquent, in his own words: "A mixture of the wonderful and the insane."
THE SCOTSMAN
Ben Moor's suavely accomplished “Twelve!” blends Hitchcock suspense with myriad off kilter concepts... to create a supernatural monologue worthy of the early 20th century satirist Saki.
High, if obscure, praise.
MELODY MAKER
BEN MOOR is an award-winning writer and actor.
His TV and film appearances include THE IT CROWD, KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU and CASANOVA.
As well as writing numerous works for the stage, he is the creator of the radio series ELASTIC PLANET and UNDONE, and his journalism has appeared in publications such as THE GUARDIAN and THE IDLER.
MORE TREES TO CLIMB collects three other solo stage pieces as short stories and features an introduction by Stewart Lee.
A couple of weeks later comes another that says 'Eleven!'
Then there’s 'Ten!'
What's going on? Is someone counting down to the end of his life? This is the story of his misadventures as he tries to avoid anything and everything. Miniature clones of the Pope, Franz Kafka fans, vengeful wasps and cross country rally dancing come into it too.
And who are Mister and Missus Clemons?
Originally performed as a solo stage comedy piece at the 1996 Edinburgh Fringe, this is a bizarre conceptual safari, full of groany jokes and wistful moments.
Reviews for the stage show of “Twelve!”:
Ben Moor's one man play, “Twelve!” was brilliant, sporting more jokes and witty lines in a single hour than a whole series of Red Dwarf.
SFX MAGAZINE
Nothing is normal in Ben Moor's latest monologue; all the audience can hope to do is to keep up as he goes further and further off the wall.
Not only deeply funny, but also oddly eloquent, in his own words: "A mixture of the wonderful and the insane."
THE SCOTSMAN
Ben Moor's suavely accomplished “Twelve!” blends Hitchcock suspense with myriad off kilter concepts... to create a supernatural monologue worthy of the early 20th century satirist Saki.
High, if obscure, praise.
MELODY MAKER
BEN MOOR is an award-winning writer and actor.
His TV and film appearances include THE IT CROWD, KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU and CASANOVA.
As well as writing numerous works for the stage, he is the creator of the radio series ELASTIC PLANET and UNDONE, and his journalism has appeared in publications such as THE GUARDIAN and THE IDLER.
MORE TREES TO CLIMB collects three other solo stage pieces as short stories and features an introduction by Stewart Lee.
27 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 25, 2014
About the author
Ben Moor
11 books6 followersBenedict "Ben" Moor is an English comedy writer and actor.
Moor was born in Wimbledon and grew up in Whitstable, Kent. He read History at University College, Oxford and graduated in 1990. While at university joined The Oxford Revue after watching the Seven Raymonds perform and first met Richard Herring, Stewart Lee and Al Murray, with whom he later collaborated.
Moving to London, Moor wrote sketches for Week Ending and Spitting Image and developed his own work.[1] In 1995 he created Elastic Planet for BBC Radio 4 which populated surreal storytelling with real world personalities such as Patrick Moore and Raymond Baxter. It was narrated by Oliver Postgate.
Moor's television credits include a clown in Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge, a quiz participant in Time Gentlemen Please and various roles in Fist of Fun and ITV's Planet Mirth. In cinema, he played the part of Andolini in Lasse Hallström's 2005 movie, Casanova.
In 2000, Moor played Lord John Dervis in the Bristol Old Vic and West End production of A Busy Day by Fanny Burney. His one-man shows include A Supercollider for the Family, Poppy Day and My Last Week With Modolia.
In 2001 Moor wrote and performed in Three Wishes with Janice Phayre, directed, as many of his shows have been, by Erica Whyman. In 2004 he adapted Black Cocktail, a novella by Jonathan Carroll, and performed it at the Edinburgh Fringe. His play Coelacanth, adapted from the stage one-man show performed at the Edinburgh Fringe of 2005, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2006.
Between 2006 and 2009 he created for BBC Radio 7 three series of Undone, a sci-fi comedy in which he also played the role of Tankerton Slopes. He has also appeared in the BBC Radio 4 sketch show Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking.
Moor's journalism work has appeared in newspapers and magazines such as The Guardian, The Observer and The Idler.
In 2009, Portobello Book published More Trees to Climb, a book collecting three of Moor's one man shows; Coelacanth, Not Everything Is Significant and A Supercollider for the Family. They are presented in prose as three separate short stories.
Moor was born in Wimbledon and grew up in Whitstable, Kent. He read History at University College, Oxford and graduated in 1990. While at university joined The Oxford Revue after watching the Seven Raymonds perform and first met Richard Herring, Stewart Lee and Al Murray, with whom he later collaborated.
Moving to London, Moor wrote sketches for Week Ending and Spitting Image and developed his own work.[1] In 1995 he created Elastic Planet for BBC Radio 4 which populated surreal storytelling with real world personalities such as Patrick Moore and Raymond Baxter. It was narrated by Oliver Postgate.
Moor's television credits include a clown in Knowing Me, Knowing You... with Alan Partridge, a quiz participant in Time Gentlemen Please and various roles in Fist of Fun and ITV's Planet Mirth. In cinema, he played the part of Andolini in Lasse Hallström's 2005 movie, Casanova.
In 2000, Moor played Lord John Dervis in the Bristol Old Vic and West End production of A Busy Day by Fanny Burney. His one-man shows include A Supercollider for the Family, Poppy Day and My Last Week With Modolia.
In 2001 Moor wrote and performed in Three Wishes with Janice Phayre, directed, as many of his shows have been, by Erica Whyman. In 2004 he adapted Black Cocktail, a novella by Jonathan Carroll, and performed it at the Edinburgh Fringe. His play Coelacanth, adapted from the stage one-man show performed at the Edinburgh Fringe of 2005, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2006.
Between 2006 and 2009 he created for BBC Radio 7 three series of Undone, a sci-fi comedy in which he also played the role of Tankerton Slopes. He has also appeared in the BBC Radio 4 sketch show Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking.
Moor's journalism work has appeared in newspapers and magazines such as The Guardian, The Observer and The Idler.
In 2009, Portobello Book published More Trees to Climb, a book collecting three of Moor's one man shows; Coelacanth, Not Everything Is Significant and A Supercollider for the Family. They are presented in prose as three separate short stories.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 2, 2020
A speedy look at one of Ben Moor’s earlier performances
A short sunday afternoon stroll through Moor’s surreal pun-filled mindscape. Who is the mysterious caller? And what happens in Angling Ragnarok?
A short sunday afternoon stroll through Moor’s surreal pun-filled mindscape. Who is the mysterious caller? And what happens in Angling Ragnarok?
Displaying 1 of 1 review