About

Ben Hodge (he/him) is a comedian, presenter, improvisor and performance artist living in manchester

 Ben's work and research centres fat, queer masculinity with a focus on explorations of the gay bear community

Ben started performing comedy while studying Media and Performance at the University of Salford (previous alumni include Peter Kay, Jason Manford, and Stephen Tries) and took it into the open mic circuit of Manchester. During his studies, Ben performed across the country and was selected to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of the university's SalFUNNI showcase.

Ben left the University of Salford as an Associate Artist, during which he developed his comedy and began working towards a festival run. His first work-in-progress, "It's a Boy?" toured various festivals in 2023 and won the Brighton and Hove Pride Bursary Award for Brighton Fringe. Ben took the show to Edinburgh Fringe, where it received rave reviews and featured in publications such as the British Comedy Guide and Broadway Baby. The show then went on to do a sell-out tour before it retired in March 2024.

 Ben then went on to study an MA in Queer Performance at Rose Bruford College. During his studies, he began to expand his work into performance art and began to create immersive, installation performances as well as 121 performances. He has then performed these across Manchester and has began to merge his performance art and comedy into his next show, "Build a Bear", which is currently in development.

Ben is also a very proud member of the queer and trans community, he co-founded Manchester Queer Art Market and has worked with organisations such as Sparkle, Trans Pride Manchester, George House Trust and The Proud Trust in a variety of capacities

In his spare time, Ben is a proud father to two cats and enjoys seeing friends, playing video games and engaging in the Manchester queer scene (i.e. drinking at REM bar)