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Bell Shakespeare’s 2020 production of Hamlet which received rave reviews before closing only one-and-a-half weeks after opening due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney, will  be revived for their third season of 2021.

The production will see the return of Harriet Gordon-Anderson as Hamlet, opening at the Sydney Opera House (7th August – 4th September), before travelling for the first time to Arts Centre Melbourne (9th – 19th September) and Canberra Theatre Centre (24th September – 2nd October).  

Directed by Bell Shakespeare Artistic Director Peter Evans, Shakespeare’s seminal revenge tragedy is reimagined for contemporary audiences, transporting them to a wintery Denmark in the 1960s. Inside the glamorous court, a family is torn apart by murder and betrayal. Outside, a country is threatened by Norway. And at the centre of this struggle is a young man’s grief for a murdered father.    

Peter Evans, Artistic Director of Bell Shakespeare notes “we’re absolutely thrilled we have a second chance to bring this production of Hamlet to the stage after having to close only 12 days into our season last year. Not only that, but we’ve got the fabulous Harriet Gordon-Anderson reviving her truly great performance as Hamlet. I couldn’t have been happier with what she brought to the play and believe our understanding of this extraordinary play is richer for having her play him.

“Hamlet is an astonishing work of art, imbued with both comedy and tragedy, love and loss, and was the first work Bell Shakespeare ever staged. My hope is we can all find ourselves in the ideas of this play, not the cultural specificity, not in the period it was written or the period of the production, but in the experience of longing, of grief, of delight, of pain, of being a parent, of being a child, and perhaps, if I may be so bold, of being.”

Alongside Gordon-Anderson, Bell Shakespeare Founder John Bell’s daughter Lucy Bell will take up the role of Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. Joining them on stage will be Jeremi Campese, Tony Cogin, Jack Crumlin, James Evans, James Lugton, Jane Mahady, Robert Menzies, Rose Riley and Mirii Anderson.

The creative team includes Designer Anna Tregloan, Lighting Designer Ben Cisterne, Composer and Sound Designer Max Lyandvert, Movement and Fight Director Nigel Poulton, Voice and Text Coach Jess Chambers and Dramaturg James Evans.

Key Details:

Hamlet will be presented in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra:

•Playhouse Sydney Opera House

7th August – 4th September 2021

Sydneyoperahouse.com 

•Playhouse Arts Centre Melbourne

9th – 19th September 2021

artscentremelbourne.com.au 

•Playhouse Canberra Theatre Centre

24th September – 2nd October 2021

canberratheatrecentre.com.au 

Image: Bell Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 2020. Credit: Brett Boardman

 

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