In 2025, Bell Shakespeare will celebrate its 35th anniversary – and it’s celebrating the occasion with three huge shows, including a national tour.
For the first time in Australia in nearly 30 years, the company will stage Shakespeare’s political epic ‘Coriolanus’, in both Sydney and Melbourne. It will star Logie winner Hazem Shammas (‘Macbeth’, ‘Safe Harbour’, ‘The Twelve’, ‘The Clearing’) in the titular role, and veteran Australian actor Peter Carroll. ‘Coriolanus’ tells the story of war, power and politics. He is a ferocious warrior and defender of Rome, but he is soon banished from the city he once protected. When he seeks vengeance against Rome with a former enemy, fate hangs in the balance.
Opening the 2025 season will be ‘Henry 5’. It’s one of the most famous war plays of all time, and will star dynamic newcomer Lebanese Australian actor JK Kazzi in his mainstage theatre debut. The play is given theatremaker Marion Potts’ female perspective, on a story centred on young men going to war.
Then, for the company’s annual national tour, Artistic Director Peter Evans’ acclaimed 2023 production of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ will tour to 26 venues across the country. It stats the magnetic Madeline Li as Juliet, and brings audiences closer than ever before to the intensity and heartbreak of Shakespeare’s most evocative tragedy.
“Welcome to Season 2025; three diverse plays and our exciting programme of public events,” Artistic Director Peter Evans says. “The world is stranger than ever and as always Shakespeare has seen it or imagined it before. I struggle with whether to reflect, comment or distract when putting together our seasons.”
“Next year, in our 35th anniversary year, we have chosen to reflect and comment, somewhat obliquely, but with sophisticated plays of the highest order. If it sometimes feels the world is fixated on finding easy answers, join us as we engage with the nuance and complex thinking of Shakespeare’s mind.”
Bell Shakespeare’s 2025 season starts with ‘Henry 5’ in March.
