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[title]William Shakespeare knew a thing or two about productions being interrupted by outbreaks of pandemic proportions, and so too does Bell Shakespeare. But after a couple of fraught years thanks to Covid, a triumphant 2022 season marked a return to form – headlined by a new pop-musical spin on A Midsummer Night's Dream. And 2023 promises an even more impressive slate of productions – along with an important anniversary.
“Next year is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio,” Bell Shakespeare’s artistic director Peter Evans explains. “Without which we wouldn’t have some of Shakespeare’s most-loved plays, including Macbeth and Twelfth Night. It felt like the right time to restage these blockbuster works.”
In addition to the aforementioned works, Bell will be mounting a minimalist, stripped back production of Romeo and Juliet designed to showcase the company’s new home base, The Neilson Nutshell at Pier 2/3 in the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, and starring Rose Riley and Jacob Warner, who featured as Ophelia and Horatio, respectively, in this year’s Hamlet. Read on for full details.
Bell Shakespeare: 2023 Season
Supplied/Bell Shakespeare | Hazem Shammas for Macbeth
Macbeth
Sydney Mar 1 – Apr 2
Canberra Apr 15 – Apr 22
Melbourne Apr 28 – May 14
Directed by Peter Evans, this production of one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies sees Hazem Shammas (The Twelve, Safe Harbour) as Macbeth, the valorous Scottish general whose ambition will be his undoing, and Jessica Tovey (The Miser, The Merchant of Venice) as Lady Macbeth, who joins her husband in his descent into murder and madness. Set in the years following the generational carnage of World War One, this production promises to bring new context to familiar text, bringing its themes of destiny, doom, and betrayal to life for a new audience.
Supplied/Bell Shakespeare | Jacob Warner and Rose Reilly for Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Sydney Jun 28 – Jul 8, Aug 2 – Aug 27
Melbourne Jul 14 – 29
Rose Riley is poor Juliet and Jacob Warner is her Romeo for director Peter Evans, who has carved away all the extraneous fat to lay bare the beating heart of Shakespeare’s most famous love story. This intimate production promises to cut to the quick, foregrounding the passionate emotion inherent in the story of two star-cross’d young lovers from rival noble houses who must pay the ultimate price for their forbidden tryst.
Supplied/Bell Shakespeare | Jane Montgomery Griffiths for Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night
Canberra Oct 13 – 21
Sydney Oct 26 – Nov 19
More dates and venues to be announced
Another tale of shipwrecked twins a la The Comedy of Errors (Bell 2022), this production is directed by Heather Fairbairn and features new, original music from Australian indie songstress Sarah Blasko. Secret identities, gender-swapping, unrequited love, and much confusion in the ranks abound when siblings Viola and Sebastian are separated, with Viola taking on the male identity of Cesario in the aftermath. Viola then falls for the noble Duke Orsino, who loves Countess Olivia, who is enamored with Cesario, who is, you’ll remember, actually Viola. Heather Fairbairn directs, with Jane Montgomery Griffiths (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titus Andronicus) in the key supporting role of disapproving housekeeper Lavolia, and further casting to be announced.
This year also sees two Play in a Day productions, with both Timon of Athens and The Spanish Tragedy being mounted as script readings in just one short day. Melbourne University scholar David McInnis will take us through A Celebration of the First Folio and the 18 plays contained therein, featuring performances from the Bell company, and Sonnets & Semillon, which pairs Shakespeare’s poetry with a specially curated selection of Tyrell’s Wines. For more information, head to the Bell Shakespeare website.