BLUE Tour – Cast
Robert Merriam
Robert was born in Suffolk, England where he spent the first decade of his childhood before his family moved to Portsmouth. As a child, Robert displayed an innate interest in performance, participating in School plays, singing in church choirs and acting in community theatre. He relished trips to the theatre with his parents and Grandparents who exposed him to everything from Andrew Lloyd-Webber to Shakespeare at an early age. During his teens he developed an interest in film and Musical Theatre with a particular fascination with the works of Wes Anderson and Stephen Sondheim. He continued to act in plays and musicals while studying English Literature at The University of Edinburgh where he also discovered a love for improvised comedy. His studies exposed to him to a wider range of European Theatre as well as deepening his understanding of and love for the British canon. After graduating from Edinburgh, he studied Musical Theatre at The Royal Academy of Music in London and trained in puppetry at the Little Angel Theatre. Robert’s educational background has given him an abiding respect for both the physical and psychological dimensions of acting. He continues to perform improvised comedy at a range of London venues and the principals of ‘improv' inform all his performance work. His acting is also greatly influenced by the writings of Declan Donnelan. This is his first time working with Vienna’s English Theatre. He is thrilled to be travelling and experiencing the culture of Austria and excited to help bring the stories of Shakespeare to life for an international audience.
Ben Willows
Ben was always quite shy as a child, but when his voice broke at ten years old, he ended up getting the big parts in drama class, and he had to adapt quickly! He soon learned to love the limelight, and has since been in plays such as Macbeth, Frankenstein, Romeo & Juliet, The Madness of George III, and The Comedy of Errors - twice! The most difficult thing he’s had to do on stage is either quickly drink a pint of milk or eat five sugar cubes at the same time (these were both in the same play). He went to Durham University to study English, but mainly performed in student plays, before training at East 15 to become a professional actor. Ben has a wide range of hobbies, but most enjoys reading and gardening. He loves spending time with his family, including his parents and his younger sister, and his girlfriend, a biologist who he’s been with for five years. Ben is pretty okay at a lot of musical instruments, but only properly good at the harmonica, which his grandpa also played. He played as a defender in football, but was much better at fencing (which he did for five years) and volleyball (which he did at university and went to Portugal for a tournament). He is a proud supporter of West Ham United Football Club.
Josie Bowbrick
Josie is an actor and musician from Surrey. Growing up just outside of London, she took regular trips to the West End, which was what made her first fall in love with the theatre. She also began playing piano from a young age and has since taken up guitar, accordion and the flute amongst other instruments. Josie graduated from the Guildford School of Acting in 2023 and since then has performed in a new musical, played keys for a panto and been the guitarist in a band. At school, Josie trained as a young leader for a music charity to help run workshops for children. She loves introducing young people to music and theatre, and thinks it is important for everyone to have access to the arts. Her love for Shakespeare began when performing in a Twelfth Night drama school production led by an inspirational director. Alongside music and acting, Josie is a keen Latin and Ballroom dancer, frequently competing around the country, even at the famous Winter Gardens in Blackpool. She enjoys writing songs and playing percussive guitar, which she regularly posts on her TikTok and Instagram social media pages.
Tommy Boyce
Tommy grew up in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. Living by the sea, he spent lots of his time swimming, playing water sports and skateboarding! Living in London now, he often misses the ocean. The youngest of four kids, he’s definitely the favourite! As a boy he was very shy, so his mum sent him to theatre school on the weekends to help him out of his shell. It worked! And his obsession with acting began. Tommy has acted in theatre and film over the last few years and loves them both equally. He enjoys playing guitar, singing, hiking, basketball and contemporary dance. He can’t wait to share the story of ‘Hamlet’ with you!