Rowan Vickers appears in Silo, a sci-fi series that launches tomorrow on Apple TV+.

Look for him in Episode 7, The Flamekeepers. The Bermudian actor plays a nurse involved in a “cat-and-mouse” game with Juliette, a character played by Golden Globe Award nominee Rebecca Ferguson.

The skills that got him cast are some of the same he will pass on to young people interested in acting here.

For the fourth summer, he is offering a drama intensive through his company, Venture Theatre.

“Thanks to our talented and dedicated students our last several summer intensives, including our abridged productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2021, were great successes despite all of the Covid-19 related challenges,” he said.

He is offering three one-week sessions in July for students aged 11 through 15.

The Macbeth Project is a three-week intensive that runs through August for students in Years 10 through 13. Previous acting experience isn’t necessary.

“The whole point is to make new friends and to experience what it's like to be part of a team and do something that's really difficult all together – and you'll learn about Shakespeare without even realising,” Rowan said.

“All students will take part in exciting and immersive theatre games, improvisation exercises, as well as time dedicated to text analysis and gaining a fuller understanding of Shakespearean language.”

Silo is based on Hugh Howey’s bestselling trilogy, Wool. It also stars Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo and Tim Robbins.

“In a ruined and toxic future, thousands live in a giant silo deep underground. After its sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents die mysteriously, engineer Juliette starts to uncover shocking secrets and the truth about the silo,” reads a synopsis by Apple TV+.

Rowan filmed his episode a year ago in London, England, and was intrigued by the plot.

“Basically it's a sort of imagined future about a society that lives in an underground silo. No one knows who built the silo or why no one is allowed outside.

The show follows the character of Juliette, who Rebecca Ferguson plays, and she begins to uncover the truth about the outside world and a truth that the authorities are trying to keep hidden.

By the time my episode comes around, Juliette’s journey has taken her to this long-term care facility – a hospital of sorts in the silo – [where] my character works.

“The episode that I'm in is a sort of a cat and mouse sequence between her and I, where she needs to avoid my detection as she searches for her information. And then there's a confrontation from there.”

Originally from Sweden, Rebecca was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role in the British television miniseries The White Queen.

She also starred with Tom Cruise in two films from the Mission Impossible franchise and was in Men in Black: International, The Girl on the Train and several other major motion pictures.

Said Rowan: “It was just a thrill to get to work with someone of her stature. And at the Apple TV studios in London to be immersed in those very, very amazing, detailed sets was a real thrill. It sort of made it easy for all of us to tap into our imagination.”

He hopes that his involvement in the series shows young actors here that it is possible to build an international career.

“We want to contribute to the arts education here on the island and raise the level of performing art for young people and for everybody,” he said.

It’s with that in mind that Venture Theatre is planning its next event, a production of Henrik Ibsen's classic drama, Ghosts, in January 2024.

“We did our first production in 2020, which was The Glass Menagerie, which was featured in the Bermuda Festival. Since the pandemic, we've been focusing most of our efforts on student outreach, namely the summer intensive.

Now that Covid is more in the rear-view and the restrictions are lifted, we're looking to pick up where we left off,” Rowan said.

“The cast will consist of prominent Bermudian and international actors. We're starting to fundraise and meet with donors who are interested in coming on board as producers.”

The idea is to have Venture become “the pre-eminent professional theatre company here in Bermuda”.

“We are not trying to come in and ruffle feathers or compete with [Gilbert & Sullivan] or [Bermuda Musical & Dramatic Society] because they're wonderful and they’re such integral parts of the community; they’re organisations that mean a lot to me because I was involved with them as a kid,” Rowan said.

“So we're not going to come in and try to do musicals or things like that. We want to produce contemporary and classic theatre – great plays that feature the best talent that Bermuda has to offer and abroad.”

For more information on Venture Theatre or to register for the summer intensive visit www.vtensemble.com or send an e-mail, venturebda@gmail.com