WHO is the actor with his trousers down in Alan Bennett's The Habit Of Art at York Theatre Royal?

The answer is Benjamin Chandler, who is playing an actor, Tim, who is playing Stuart, a rent boy with the aforementioned lowered garment, in Bennett's play within a play about the twilight days of York poet W H Auden and composer Benjamin Britten.

Benjamin – Chandler, not Britten – was born in Beverley and lives in Hotham, 21 miles south east of York. "I've been there most of my life; I moved there when I was three and I went to Pocklington School from the age of seven to 18 before going off to RADA, graduating in 2015.

"Until now, I've never performed in York, though my first job after drama school was playing Donalbain in York director Kit Monkman's film Macbeth, which we filmed at Green Screen Productions' studios at Bubwith [a former pig farm near Selby].

"The first few days of filming felt absolutely bizarre," recalls Benjamin. "Filming the opening scene, as part of the 'Royal' family, we were sitting on this podium in this huge green covered barn and all I could see for weeks was green, so to then see the finished film, transformed by all the technical work being added, was amazing.

"Being my first job fresh out of drama school, I'd never done anything like that before – and not since either!"

He does, however, have previous form for working with The Habit Of Art director Philip Franks. "It was back in the days of my third year at RADA, when we did Howard Barker's The Castle: a great final-year production with a massive cast. I had a great time doing it, with my small role allowing me to be less nervous, but Pip [Franks] really cultivated a great atmosphere to work in under his direction," says Benjamin.

He saw playing Tim/Stuart in Franks's production of The Habit Of Art for York Theatre Royal and The Original Theatre Company as "a really exciting opportunity" and duly auditioned. "Pip rang me later that day to say that I'd got the part, which was lovely of him."

Now he is playing two roles in his Theatre Royal debut. "Tim's a very ambitious actor; not necessarily the most confident, but he wants to learn from the experienced actors around him in the rehearsal room, and with that mindset he's up for anything, wanting to make his mark, not unlike my situation really at this stage of my career!" says Benjamin.

And what of Stuart, the rent boy with the dropped trousers? "Oh. he's very complicated! He's a rent boy; it's his life, it's what he does; he doesn't think much about it, but then he's also realistic that there's more to life, more to him, knowing that he should have a purpose in life rather than just being a tool, so he's heartbreaking to play, talking about how he's trapped in that world.

"Doing my research on rent boys, you read stories of some going on to write musicals, plays or stories, or to perform, but most don't."

Benjamin has loved working on a Bennett script in rehearsal and now on stage. "It's been very complicated in rehearsals but very rewarding and the more time you spend with the script, working on the words, you realise nothing he writes is unintentional; there is a reason for everything being there and finding that reason is what makes the performances interesting. The more we do it, the more we can see the light and shade."

After York, The Habit Of Art goes on the road until December 13. "That's the longest tour I've done so far; the longest before this was a month." Benjamin will certainly be well into the habit of this particular art come the final curtain.

Alan Bennett's The Habit Of Art runs at York Theatre Royal until Saturday, September 8, then on tour. York box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk