Cirrus@Austlit

'“If I had my life again, I would choose no other course.” John Bell

'Spend an evening with John Bell, a man who believed that Australians could see themselves reflected in the works of Shakespeare and founded a company based on his belief.

'Join one of Australia’s National Living Treasures as he shares his humour, wit and a lifetime of experience walking beside one of the greatest writers to have ever lived, in One Man In His Time: John Bell and Shakespeare.

'This fascinating backstage pass to John Bell’s life and his relationship with Shakespeare will be a beautiful evening of performance and recollection.' (Production summary)

'In a world where the Noongar language is spoken by all, a yarn about a Scottish king is retold.

'Join Yirra Yaakin, one of Australia’s leading Aboriginal performing arts organisations for Australia’s first large-scale Shakespeare production entirely in Noongar. 

'Hecate, queen of the witches, is usually omitted from productions of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Most directors are unsure of what to do with her. Here, she is at the heart of everything watching as Macbeth strives toward power at any cost, all the while knowing that order must be restored; that Country always trumps human ambition and greed.

'In 1833 colonist Robert Menli Lyon wrote in reference to Noongar people that ‘the whole of each tribe are bards’. This world premiere event puts those words to the test. Having spent years studying and reclaiming their endangered Noongar language, a star ensemble use this audacious adaptation as a springboard to showcase its poetic and expressive qualities.'

Source: Perth Festival.