In the new UK & Ireland Tour of The Shawshank Redemption, Bill Ward plays Warden Stammas alongside Joe McFadden (as Andy Dufresne) and Ben Onwukwe (as Ellis ‘Red’ Redding). The Shawshank Redemption opened at Theatre Royal Windsor on 3rd September, and is currently open at Manchester HOME before heading to Lichfield Garrick Theatre from the 13th to 18th October, and with dates across the UK, the play (which is directed by David Esbjornson and Tim Welton) will have their final dates in June 2026 at London Richmond Theatre. With The Shawshank Redemption taking a break from November to January, Bill is set to play Abanazar in Aladdin at the Palace Theatre in Redditch, and earlier this year, he played Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale at Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol. Bill previously played Mr McCarten in Gerry & Sewell at Newcastle Theatre Royal in November 2024, Gerald in the 2023/24 tour of The Full Monty, Henry Condell in the European premiere of The Book of Will, and in the world premiere of new British musical Are You As Nervous As I Am?, he played Bob Parr. Having an extensive theatre and screen career, Bill’s further stage roles include Baltus van Tassel in the UK Tour of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow opposite Wendi Peters as Mariette, and he played Hugo/Loco Chanelle in the West End musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. During Bill’s screen career so far, over the years, he has appeared in numerous TV projects, with some of his recent shows being Casualty as Mike Sartwell, Vera as Peter Henson, Doctors as Mickey Gilmore, The Hunt for Raoul Moat as Mike Anderson, Before We Die as DI Sean Hardacre, After Life as Simon, and he is known on screen for playing the character Charlie Stubbs in Coronation Street from 2003 to 2007. Alongside acting, Bill has a love for the ocean and photography, and has combined both of his passions for his upcoming book release of IMMERSIVE, which is available to pre-order. We found out from Bill about playing Warden Stammas in the UK & Ireland Tour of The Shawshank Redemption, his upcoming role of Abanazar in Aladdin at Palace Theatre in Redditch, his recent screen roles in Vera and The Hunt for Raoul Moat and his new book IMMERSIVE.
How has it been opening the new UK & Ireland Tour of The Shawshank Redemption, which started its run at Theatre Royal Windsor on 3rd September, and how has it been seeing the audience response to the show so far?
Glorious. Huge fun. It’s an enormously rewarding show to be a part of. It has such vibrant and strong universal themes that audiences tend to immediately identify with, warm to and respond to. The power of friendship, triumph over adversity, staying true to yourself and finding hope in the darkest of places.
Can you tell us about The Shawshank Redemption (without giving spoilers) and how is it bringing the story to the stage?
Our play is based on the 1982 Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, which was also the basis for the 1994 film starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. The story follows Andy Dufresne, a banker wrongly convicted of the murder of his wife, and his journey to freedom from the maximum security prison in which he’s housed, The Shawshank penitentiary. The story is told through the eyes of Red Redding, a fellow prisoner, who ultimately becomes friends with him over time…
How familiar were you with Stephen King’s novella and the 1994 film before booking your role of Warden Stammas, and was there anything that drew you to the production?
Like many people, I knew the film very well. It was one of my favourite films growing up. I’d never read the Stephen King novella on which it’s based before, but I read it repeatedly in the run up to the start of rehearsals. What a fine story it is… so much detail, brilliant writing, hugely compelling.
A couple of things in particular drew me to the project… the themes of the story, which are so lucid and powerful, and also the characters within it, which are so finely and clearly drawn…
How would you describe Warden Stammas and how is it getting into character?
Complex and conflicted. He’s a ruthless, God-fearing Baptist, who does what he needs to do to keep complete control of the state’s premier maximum security prison, which he’s in charge of. He has a sureness about him, a clarity of thinking, which is stark and quite arresting. He’s neat, tidy, and precise. I spend the last 15 minutes of the half before going on stage every evening literally in his shoes, listening to classical music, and getting my energy and tempo down to match his.
What is it like working alongside the rest of the cast, which includes Joe McFadden as Andy Dufresne and Ben Onwukwe as Ellis ‘Red’ Redding, and being directed by David Esbjornson and Tim Welton?
A delight. This is SUCH a strong cast – a really powerful ensemble. Joe and Ben are absolutely brilliant. Funnily enough, I’ve worked with both of them before – I did a guest episode with Joe when he was the lead in Hearbeat a number of years ago (I was playing a violent explosives expert called Mad Dan Neeley, who liked blowing stuff up!), and I toured The Full Monty with Ben last year, which was absolutely glorious. But the ensemble as a whole in this show is really, really strong – fine actors all over the stage.
The directors David Esbjornson and his associate Tim Welton have been brilliant – David staged the original production, was there at our read-through and gave really insightful notes, and Tim has been a joy to work with, rehearsing us all into the show.
How was it reading the script for the first time, and who do you think will enjoy watching this stage adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption?
I loved the script when I read it. It’s really, really well put together – clear, differentiated characters, great dialogue, and really well-constructed story arcs that move through the show. It’s for everyone really – a great piece of drama, very dark in places, but with plenty of funny moments, and ultimately hugely uplifting.
What are you looking forward to for continuing touring with The Shawshank Redemption through 2026?
Just working on the show as we go… one of the things I love about a long run is you become really familiar with a piece of work and how it lands, but you also get to quietly work away on little bits over the course of the run… tiny little nuances, little tweaks here and there… it’s a hugely rewarding show to be a part of.
With the tour having a break between November and January, it has been announced that you will be playing Abanazar in Palace Theatre’s pantomime Aladdin in Redditch, how does it feel to be returning to pantomime and what do you enjoy most about these shows?
I absolutely love panto, and am excited to be playing Abanazar in Redditch. He’s one of my favourite panto baddies. Fixated on world domination, but without the skills to achieve it! Panto is such an important theatrical event… it’s often the first time that kids go to the theatre in their lives, it’s often the only time all year that families will go to a theatre together, and it’s such an important part of the Christmas landscape for so many people. You just want to do the best possible job for so many reasons…
What was it like playing Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale at Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol earlier this year and Mr McCarten in Gerry & Sewell at Newcastle Theatre Royal in October 2024?
I loved playing Polixenes in The Winter’s Tale. It was the first opportunity I’d had to act in Bristol, which is where I live, for over 20 years, and I love doing Shakespeare – a real treat. It was TFT’s first Shakespeare production since the pandemic, so felt like a really important milestone – their stripped-back productions were legendary when I was leaving drama school in the early 2000s.
Gerry & Sewell was simply one of my favourite jobs ever – an absolute career highlight. In my hometown of Newcastle, at the theatre I grew up going to as a child, playing sold-out shows to over 1000 flag-waving Geordies a night, AC/DC blasting out from the stage with a fabulously talented cast of home-grown actors. I laughed and cried every night – I’ve never felt anything like it on a stage in my life. Magnificent.
What was it like touring with The Full Monty in 2023-24 and how did you find the experience working on the production?
Huge fun. We were so close as a company – we’re all still in touch now (Ben, who played Horse in The Full Monty, is Red in our production of The Shawshank Redemption). It’s such a fun show to do, and audiences absolutely love it. It’s such a fine piece of writing, the comedy comes from the tragedy and the truthfulness of it. Huge fun to do. And the last five minutes is wild…
What was Gerald like to play and do you have any favourite memories from the tour that you can share?
I loved Gerald. Such a proud, well-meaning, ineffectual human. With a gnome fixation. Just touring with such a kind-hearted, supportive and wonderful company was my main memory… happy, happy days.
How was it being part of the European premiere of The Book of Will as Henry Condell at Bolton Octagon and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and the world premiere of new British musical Are You As Nervous As I Am? as Bob Parr?
The Book of Will – what a piece of writing! Bolton Octagon make such fine work… great production – and I was so excited to be working in the round again. Brilliant story about the men and women who saved Shakespeare’s plays from obscurity, gathered them together, and had them published in the First Folio for the first time. Without it, most of Shakespeare’s plays would have been lost.
And I’ll always fondly remember Are You As Nervous As I Am?… Greenwich Theatre, coming out of lockdown, great story, hugely talented cast. And I got to play my clarinet, and also pretend to play the piano. Boom!
How was it taking on the role of Baltus van Tassel in the UK Tour of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, in which you starred opposite Wendi Peters as Mariette?
Oh, that was a spooky show… brand-new piece of writing… gothic horror… all the feels! We were touring during the pandemic, so huge kudos to the producers Tilted Wig for daring to take the show out at all. It was a hugely brave thing to do, in a landscape where theatre had essentially been abolished for 18 months. We had to be SO careful about going out, took COVID tests every day and sent them in… strange but happy times…
As a screen actor, you have filmed guest episodes of Casualty (Mike Sartwell), Vera (Peter Henson) and Doctors (Mickey Gilmore) in recent years; how was it filming your episodes?
I always love filming. It’s such a different skill to theatre acting. Doing your work, bringing your performance onto set, and then shooting without any rehearsal… Doctors was legendary for that in particular. It was such an important breeding ground for actors, directors, writers, and creatives… much missed in the industry. And Vera was a really personally significant job for me… filming up in Northumberland, where I’m from, in an iconic show that I grew up watching. Magic.
What was it like being involved with the TV series The Hunt for Raoul Moat as Mike Anderson and Before We Die as DI Sean Hardacre?
The Hunt for Raoul Moat was interesting in that I’m from the North East, the part of the world where it all happened, and quite a few of my family lived very near where he was eventually found. So it was very much on my radar as an event. And it touched so many people’s lives.
Playing Sean Hardacre in Before We Die was brilliant – filming out in Belgium in the teeth of the pandemic, working with Lesley Sharp, who is a legend, and being hung upside down from a meathook whilst being beaten half to death by a Belgian boxer. Happy days.
Over your extensive acting career so far, you have worked on many other projects on both stage and screen including After Life as Simon, Emmerdale as James Barton, The Great Ghost Rescue as Lord Alfred Seymour, Coronation Street as Charlie Stubbs, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie as Hugo / Loco Chanelle, Legally Blonde as Callahan and Not Dead Enough as DS Roy Grace, what are some of your stand-out highlights?
I’ve been very lucky. Too many good times to mention. Working with Ricky Gervais on After Life was a highlight, such a brilliant show, with such an extraordinary central concept – a comedy about grief. And going full drag playing Loco Chanelle in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in the West End was absolutely extraordinary – the heels! The heels! And Charlie Stubbs, of course, was unforgettable as a character… I’ll always be grateful for how the writers wrote for him…
How did you originally get into acting and was it always something you wanted to do professionally?
Yes, very much so, though I turned professional relatively late. I had a 10 year career in advertising first, working as a strategic planner and account director for two of the finest ad agencies in London (Saatchi & Saatchi and BBH). But I’d always wanted to be an actor, so put myself through drama school when I was 32, came out when I was 33, and have been lucky enough to work in the business ever since.
Have there been any theatre shows you’ve seen recently that you’ve particularly enjoyed?
Yes. I managed to get a seat on the stage for Till the Stars Come Down, the Beth Steel play that’s recently been on at Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End. I absolutely love her work – thoughtful, direct, funny, very raw, hugely powerful. Being from the North myself, I really identify with the subject matter of her work – absolutely one of the best plays I’ve ever seen.
You also work as a photographer, and will soon be releasing your book IMMERSIVE; can you tell us about the book and what has it been like to work on?
Yes, my IMMERSIVE book is now open for pre-orders at https://www.kozubooks.com/books-new/immersive-by-bill-ward. I’m absolutely delighted with it. It’s a book about the ocean, my pioneering four-year project taking a moving camera into the water with a wetsuit and waterproof housing, and putting it into the path of breaking waves. I’m one of the UK’s leading specialists in Intentional Camera Movement, the process of deliberately moving a camera whilst taking a photograph, and this book is a celebration of that.
How does it feel now the book is near completion and how has it been seeing it come together?
Wonderful. I had an idea five years ago to combine two of my absolute passions: I’ve been a surfer for over 30 years, and have always been in awe of the power and tranquillity of the ocean. And I’ve been taking and teaching Intentional Camera Movement since 2012. This book is the culmination of four years of exploration and investigation of putting the two together. Magic. You can see more of my work on my website www.billwardphotography.co.uk, or Instagram @billwardphotography.
Do you have a favourite aspect of photography, and what is it like holding photography workshops?
I love photography for its peace and quiet. Literally the polar opposite of the acting world. I find it very mindful… particularly the solitude of it. Being surrounded by Mother Nature. And working with her on her terms.
I love teaching photography, I do a lot of it, and give talks all over the world. I particularly love helping people explore their own creativity, and their own unique connection with the world around them.
How do you like to spend your free time?
With my family. I have a wonderful partner and two beautiful children – simply being at home is my absolute favourite thing.
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