Biography

Ben made his debut in a professional stage production at the age of twelve playing the Mayor of the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz at the Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, Suffolk. The following year, he played Peter Cratchit in A Christmas Carol. Ben continued to perform frequently at the Wolsey until he was twenty.

Rehearsal photograph for 'Watership Down'. R-L- Ben as Keehaa the Seagull, Matthew Girt, Donna Flurrie, Jamie Halliday and Francesca Debenham. Directed by Caroline Smith. Photograph by East Anglian Daily Times.
Ben as Chief Rabbit in the same production of 'Watership Down'. Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. Photograph by Mike Kwasniak.
Emperor Magnus in 'Princess and the Swineherd'. Directed by Antony Tuckey. Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. Photograph by Mike Kwasniak.
Lord Cutglass in 'Under Milk Wood'.Directed by Antony Tuckey. Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. Photograph by Mike Kwasniak.

Aged sixteen, Ben became a member of the Wolsey Youth Theatre, which was run by the Wolsey’s Artistic Director, Antony Tuckey. Ben performed in six productions with the Wolsey Youth Theatre, including Under Milk Wood, David Copperfield and the stage premiere of Watership Down.

Shadow in 'Beauty and the Beast'. Directed by Antony Tuckey. Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. Photograph by Mike Kwasniak.
'What's On In London' Magazine. 'Watership Down'. L-R - Nigel Grey, Ben as Bigwig and Joe O' Keeffe. Directed by Caroline Smith. Photograph by Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, London.

Ben continued to work in the Wolsey’s professional shows, totalling a further eleven productions. During this time he took LAMDA drama examinations and a two year performing arts course at Suffolk College. He then acted in two productions at the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park, London with the company’s youth theatre; Watership Down and The Jungle Book.

Ben has performed in training films for BT and Suffolk County Council and Starstruck, a channel 4 documentary about the acting profession. 

He has acted in six audio plays in the Suffolk Tales series.