Bell Shakespeare’s first production of 2026 is now open in Sydney, a contemporary staging of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare’s political masterpiece centred on the most famous murder in western history. The production is playing at the Sydney Opera House until 5 April, before touring to Canberra Theatre Centre from 10 – 18 April, and finally the Arts Centre Melbourne from 23 April – 10 May.
Directed by Bell Shakespeare Artistic Director Peter Evans, who also acts as set designer, this thrilling new staging serves as a companion piece to the company’s 2025 production of Coriolanus, which followed the rise of the Roman Republic, and now we see the fall. Julius Caesar explores the cost of ambition, loyalty and power, and what happens when an electorate is asking for an autocracy.
The production unfolds in a setting reminiscent of Eastern Europe in the 1990s, simultaneously contending with that region’s system of government following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the political structures of Ancient Rome.
The seasoned ensemble cast features Leon Ford (Elvis, Hamlet) as Cassius, Brigid Zengeni (Coriolanus, The Artful Dodger) as Brutus, Helpmann Award winner Mark Leonard Winter (The Dressmaker, The Newsreader) making his Bell Shakespeare debut as Mark Antony, and Septimus Caton (Coriolanus, Comedy Of Errors) as Julius Caesar. They are joined onstage by Peter Carroll (King Lear, Aftertaste) as Casca, Jules Billington (Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors) as Portia, Ray Chong Nee (Othello) as Metellus, James Lugton (King Lear) as Decius, Ava Madon (Henry 5) as Calpurnia, and Ruby Maishman (Coriolanus) as Cinna.
The play follows the journey of Julius Caesar, who has returned from battle triumphant and is repeatedly offered the crown to rule. Fearful of Caesar’s growing influence, Brutus and Cassius hatch a chilling conspiracy that sets off a chain of violence with devastating consequences.
The creative team is made up of Peter Evans (Director and Set Designer), Jessica Tovey (Associate Director), Amelia Lever-Davidson (Lighting Designer), Simone Romaniuk (Costume Designer), Madeleine Picard (Composer and Sound Designer), Tim Dashwood (Fight and Movement Director) and Jack Starkey-Gill (Voice Director).
March 11 – April 5
https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/
Image: Brett Boardman
