Hamlet

Harriet Gordon-Anderson

Company: Bell Shakespeare
Venue: Sydney Opera House, Canberra Theatre Centre, Arts Centre Melbourne

Year the project commenced: 2018 
Year it became impossible: 2020 
Audience not reached:  18,000>30,000​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Certain circumstances make things impossible even after they have been achieved, and even when they receive acclaim. This was the case for Bell Shakespeare’s HAMLET. Set in 1960s Denmark and staring Harriet Gordon-Anderson the production had opened at the Sydney Opera House and had three months of performances planned. Then, on March 17 2020 (less than 2 weeks after opening night) The Sydney Opera House closed its venues to comply with government social distancing regulations. As the days and weeks passed, the doors of the other planned venues (The Canberra Theatre Centre and The Arts Centre Melbourne) also closed. With venues of 500+ capacity continuing to be deemed unsafe and remaining closed for months it eventually became clear that rather than ‘pausing' or 'postponing' the season for a few months, Hamlet needed to be cancelled for the rest of the year, if not longer.
“The production has been designed with those 3 venues in mind, and our exquisite set (fitted with large set-pieces, a dozen or so snow machines, and AV projections) was not particularly nomadic nor transposable to more COVID-friendly settings like an outdoor theatre. We hope and plan to open the show again in February 2021, exactly as it was. This is reliant on theatre venue possibilities and audience capacity regulations etc. So yes - we very much hope it will rise again! “ Harriet Gordon-Anderson, 2020.
Director - Peter Evans 
Designer - Anna Tregloan
Lighting Designer - Ben Cisterne 
Sound Designer & Composer - Max Lyandvert
Video Designer - Laura Turner  
Voice Coach - Jess Chambers 
Movement Director - Nigel Poulton 
Dramaturg - James Evans 
Assitant Director - AD - Abbie-Lee Lewis 

SM - Danielle Ironside 
ASM - Ruth Hollows 
Cast - Jeremi Campese, 
Tony Cogin, 
Jack Crumlin, 
James Evans 
James Lugton, 
Jane Mahady, 
Lisa McCune, 
Robert Menzies, 
Aanisa Vylet, 
Sophie Wilde

Photography by Brett Broadmann
UPDATE as of November 2020: 
Hamlet will return to stages in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra in 2021. Visit the Bell Shakespeare website for more info.

↑Back to Top