Bell Shakespeare’s new production of Macbeth opens tonight in Sydney

Bell Shakespeare’s new production of Macbeth is now showing at Sydney Opera House until 2 April, before touring to Canberra Theatre Centre from 14 – 22 April and Arts Centre Melbourne from 27 April – 14 May 2023.

2023 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of Macbeth in Shakespeare’s First Folio, the first collected edition of William Shakespeare’s plays, without which we wouldn’t have some of Shakespeare’s most-loved works. Bell Shakespeare celebrates this moment with a new production set in the moody 1920s, post-World War I. Starring Logie Award winning actor Hazem Shammas, known for his work on TVs Safe Harbour and The Twelve, as the murderous Macbeth, alongside Jessica Tovey as Lady Macbeth, they are joined onstage by Rebecca Attanasio, Julia Billington, Isabel Burton, Jeremi Campese, Eleni Cassimatis, James Lugton, Kyle Morrison and Jacob Warner.

Directed by Artistic Director Peter Evans, the production is a terrifying portrayal of moral collapse and an intense and compelling journey into the dark heart of humanity. Shakespeare’s most haunting thriller follows the story of Macbeth, a Scottish general, famed for his exploits on the battlefield.

Peter Evans, Artistic Director of Bell Shakespeare:

I am fixated on Macbeth and have returned to it every few years throughout my life and continue to find new things. In my 20s I was attracted to the violence and ruthlessness in the play and when I turned 40 it was the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. And now, firmly in my middle age, I am fascinated by the politics, the deception and double speak. And the thresholds, the choices, of actions they cannot walk back from. I shudder at the nightmare and loss of humanity Macbeth feels and the intense flood of thoughts and feelings Lady Macbeth is overwhelmed by.

I am excited about working with Hazem Shammas and Jessica Tovey, powerful and razor-sharp actors of deep intelligence. This is the best marriage in Shakespeare. But a marriage bent on murder. It is a nightmare. The portrait of a tyrant who is able to describe his hopes and fears in some of Shakespeare’s most haunting and visceral language. Imagine the theatre without this play!

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Season Details

Venue: Canberra Theatre Centre
Date: 14 – 22 April 2023

Venue: Arts Centre Melbourne
Date: 27 April – 14 May 2023

For more information click HERE