Culture critic and broadcaster David Benedict read drama at Hull University and spent ten years as an actor and director. After joining the national newspaper The Independent in 1993 as the daily arts columnist/critic, he became the theatre editor and associate arts editor. He was arts editor of The Observer and then became the founding critic/deputy arts editor of Bloomberg News and, in 2006, was appointed chief London critic of Variety. He has also written reviews, features and interviews for The Guardian, The Times, Sunday Times, Wall Street Journal Europe, Esquire, Elle and Opera magazine.

A regular broadcaster on arts and current affairs programs on BBC TV and radio, he wrote and presented a BBC film with Rufus Wainwright on Verdi and the BBC profile documentary of director/choreographer Matthew Bourne. He is currently writing the authorised biography of Stephen Sondheim to be published by Random House.

Photograph by Charlie Carter