Interview: Ben Caplan, star of Call The Midwife

Ben Caplan is currently starring in the world premiere of Daniel Kanaber’s play Shiver at the Watford Palace Theatre. 

Described as a “haunting, warm and funny play”, Shiver is about family, identity, and love. When Sadie dies, her husband (a lapsed Jew), their son (an atheist), and a trainee Rabbi, gather together to remember her in the tradition of sitting Shivah... what could possibly go wrong?

Ben is a familiar face on British TV best known for playing PC Peter Noakes in BBC period drama Call the Midwife. Just a few of his theatre credits include: Seven Jewish Children at the Royal Court, Two Thousand Years at the National Theatre, The Common Pursuit at the Menier Chocolate Factory and The Dwarfs at the Tricycle Theatre.

Recently I spoke to Ben about the joys of starring in a brand new play, why Call the Midwife is a dream job and why he thinks the series is going from strength to strength…

How is the run of Shiver going so far?

I think it’s going really well; it’s always interesting with a new play to see how it is received in front of an audience. For three weeks we had been in a rehearsal room with the writer, the director and the three actors. The response so far has been very positive and I think it is selling well which is always good, so fingers crossed it is going to be a good run.

Review: Our Country's Good at the Watford Palace Theatre

Our Country's Good

UK Tour - Prior to West End Transfer

Reviewed at the Watford Palace Theatre

Reviewed on Tuesday 6th December 2012

Australia, 1789. An ambitious young lieutenant, Ralph Clark, is set the task of directing newly arrived convicts in the Restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer in celebration of the King’s birthday. But with a dispirited cast, just two copies of the script, opposition from sadistic officers, a leading lady who faces the gallows, and Ralph’s uncontrollable passion for one of his convict players, Australia’s first theatre production is in trouble from the start.

Our Country's Good is perfect. When reviewing shows I always like to highlight a productions good and bad points, no matter how much I enjoy or dislike it. However, Our Country's Good is perfectly written, perfectly directed and perfectly performed. It is faultless.

Review: Medea at the Watford Palace Theatre (UK Tour)

Medea (UK Tour)
Watford Palace Theatre
Performance: Wednesday 18th October 2012 (Evening)

Her husband’s gone and her future isn’t bright. Imprisoned in her marital home, Medea can’t work, can’t sleep and increasingly, can’t cope. While her child plays, she plots her revenge. This startlingly modern version of Euripides’ classic tragedy explores the private fury bubbling under public behaviour and asks how a mother, fuelled by anger at her husband's infidelity, might be driven to commit the worst imaginable crime.