These difficult times have created some positivity...
CALL THE MIDWIFE’S BEN CAPLAN TELLS MARION McMULLEN HE’S READY TO BE ON STAGE AGAIN BUT ENJOYED FAMILY TIME IN LOCKDOWN
The Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Winter’s Tale was meant to open last year. What’s it like to finally be able to do the play?
It’s amazing. All of us in the company stopped a year ago last March, but were kept under contract and we did manage to do some outside work from it last summer which was great.
I had moved to Stratford-upon-Avon for the production and we did one day of rehearsals and then everything ground to a halt.
I stayed a few days as we waited to see what would happen, but we quite quickly realised we would not be able to carry on and I went home. Now we are back and a week away from technical rehearsals in the theatre, which is a bit scary.
We’ve picked up were we left off. It’s going to be a very, very special show. The production is to be broadcast by the BBC and hopefully it won’t be long before theatres start to re-open as well.
How have you managed during lockdown?
I was lucky. I was in Manchester from October to January working on a new BBC series called Lagging. It was filmed under Covid restrictions, so nobody could go near anyone else and we all had to do our own hair and make-up and manage costume fittings – it was a whole new way of working.
I’ve also had time to work on my own film projects and, of course, there has been home schooling.
My young daughter is in year one and my son is in year five. It’s been challenging having to teach, but you manage. Year five maths was definitely a challenge. It’s been some time since I’ve had to think about fractions and equations.
The line between being a parent and a teacher can be a bit murky sometimes. But it’s also been lovely to go on family bike rides and talk about other things in the world.
I think it’s created a different type of bond and out of these difficult times it has created some positivity.
You are fondly remembered for playing PC Peter Noakes in Call The Midwife. Did people recognise you a lot?
(Laughs) They still do. My son, who was a baby at the time, even appeared on Call The Midwife. He was in the scene when Peter and Chummy (Miranda Hart) get married and they come out of the church to be greeted by all the mums and babies Chummy has delivered. He was one of the babies.
I can’t believe it, but it’s actually coming up to the 10th anniversary of Call The Midwife. There’s been some chat about having a bit of reunion with some of the cast as and when we can. I don’t think anyone had any idea when they put out the first series, how huge it would become.
It tackled quite complex subjects, but was also very warm. I think it came along at the right time and the whole family could watch it. There was the brilliant writing from Heidi Thomas and a great cast, and everything sort of fell into place.
You play Camillo in The Winter’s Tale. What was your introduction to Shakespeare?
I remember seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Open Air Theatre in Regent’s Park and being mesmerised by it all.
I also did Shakespeare for my English and drama A level and then I performed a speech by Edmund from King Lear, for a scholarship to drama school.
I used to go on school trips to Stratford-upon-Avon and remember seeing Kenneth Branagh’s epic four-hour Hamlet. (Laughs) Twenty five years later and here I am.
When did you get the acting bug?
My father produced some theatre and from quite an early age I was going to plays. I remember being so excited to see David Suchet on stage and years later we worked together on a TV programme about the life of Robert Maxwell.
One of the big turning points in my career was the HBO series Band Of Brothers from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
I think, at that time, it was the most expensive TV series ever made and it was a fantastic experience. Meeting Steven Spielberg was a huge honour having been such a fan of his growing up.
You’ve played a wide variety of characters on stage but The Exorcist must have been an interesting experience...
I’m a big film buff and had watched the original movie. I was very excited to play Father Damien Karras, but I had friends who said ‘Ben, I’ll come and see you in anything, but I can’t watch that’.
It was a real experience to scare so many people in a theatre. The production would start with a loud bang and all the lights would go off and you could hear the gasps from the audience.
(Laughs) They didn’t know what they had let themselves in for.
■ The world premiere of The Winter’s Tale is being shown to coincide with Shakespeare’s birthday on BBC Four and iPlayer later this month. It is part of the BBC Lights Up theatre festival season of plays newly adapted for TV and radio. Go to rsc.org.uk for more details.