Bell Shakespeare 2026 Season

Welcome to a season of ambition, guilt and idealised murder, with two monumental tragedies and the premiere of a brand-new play along with our exciting program of talks and events. 

First up is Julius Caesar, one of the most famous political plays of all time, centred on the most famous murder in western history and featuring the return of one of our favourite actors, Leon Ford, as Cassius. Leon last appeared for us as Tartuffe but some of you will also remember him as Hamlet in 2003. Leon is joined by a new favourite, Brigid Zengeni, who will take on Brutus, following her triumph as Volumnia in Coriolanus. After Coriolanus I always intended to produce Julius Caesar again (I last directed it in 2011) and see how one play informs the other. Julius Caesar was the first of Shakespeare’s three history-based Roman plays and is arguably the tightest and leanest, with Shakespeare taking his cue from the stoic thinkers of Rome. The events of Coriolanus are around the forming of the republic. 400 years later, Julius Caesar sees us at the end, with a group of conspirators willing to murder to save it. What happens when your ideals are not shared by your fellow citizens? Does violence always beget violence? And what happens when an electorate is asking for an autocracy? 

Our national tour sees the return of our highly successful production of Macbeth travelling the country to more than 20 venues before a season at Sydney Opera House. I am excited to revisit this work with a new cast, led by Anthony Taufa and Matilda Ridgway. Both these brilliant actors were part of The Players education team touring schools in 2012 and appeared together most recently in Coriolanus. They will take on the best marriage in Shakespeare in our séance-inspired nightmare world of ambition and guilt. 

And in The Neilson Nutshell and Fairfax Studio we present Yve Blake’s Mackenzie. Yve is one of the most exciting and hilarious writers in Australia, achieving massive success with her musical FANGIRLS here and in London. When she sent us her new play about an ambitious teenage TV star and her relentless stage mother we were delighted; horrified and delighted. The play tracks the events of Macbeth ingeniously and it is funny, disturbing and full of pathos. I am thrilled to have Virginia Gay take the helm as director. She is probably best known to you as an actor and is currently artistic director at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Virginia will bring all her comedy, farce and drama skills to ushering Yve’s play to stage. This is a show squarely aimed at younger audiences, however I suspect if you are like me, any age will delight in this mischievous, shocking and hilarious play. But be warned… it features hot language and horrendous parenting!