'Sliding Doors' moment at school results in play

Benjamin Sumrie's semi-autobiographical work has psychological drama and Jewish influence

Have you ever wished you could turn back the clock and rewrite a bit of your life? It’s something Jewish playwright Benjamin Sumrie has thought about a great deal. So much so that he has written a semi-autobiographical play on this theme.

One Hundred Percent is about an actor who encounters the examiner who some years before had awarded him 100 percent across the board in an acting exam.

This proved to be a life-changing turning point for the 16-year-old student. It seemed to confirm that his future lay in becoming a professional actor. At the time he was so grateful to the examiner for praising him and directing his whole career path. But, with the benefit of hindsight, did the examiner really do him such a favour?

Playwright Benjamin, who as a teenager was awarded 100 percent in his acting exams, in this – his first full-length play – reflects, as a full-time working actor, on how his life could have been different had he not achieved such high scoring marks.

“It is a psychological drama with Jewish comedic elements and influence,” says Benjamin.

“Writing the play has been cathartic. It is an honest reflection on the acting industry, looking at consequence, the human need for validation and ambition.”

Benjamin, who is a member of the Precarious Theatre Company, worked in collaboration with the theatre company to stage the finished performance.

For Benjamin, who went on to study Philosophy and Politics at university, before becoming a full-time actor, the outcome has been a happy one. He is a professional actor with many roles. In between appearing in One Hundred Percent he is also starring in An Actor in Search of a Plot at Edinburgh Festival in August.

But what of the student in the play? You’ll have to see the performance to find out!

The play has three actors playing rotating roles and is at Baron’s Court Theatre this week then going to the Greater Manchester Fringe in July and Voila Festival in November.

One Hundred Percent is at Barons Court Theatre until 21 June. baronscourttheatre.com