Fun, interactive, high-energy Shakespeare.
The Players are Bell Shakespeare’s touring ensemble of professional artists who bring Shakespeare to life in schools and communities across Australia.
1-hour incursion (50 min performance + 10 min Q&A)
50-minute performances are paired with a 10-minute Q&A for an action-packed hour of Shakespeare immersion. Each show comes with its own comprehensive Online Learning Pack to ensure you can make the most of the performance with pre- and post-show resources and exercises.
Each performance explores key scenes and soliloquies, analysis of Shakespeare’s language, choices and themes and contemporary commentary all wrapped up in a fresh, modern narrative.
The Players are sure to be a favourite of students and teachers alike. Book one show or host us for the entire day. Forget booking buses, let us come to you. We’re looking forward to delivering high-energy Shakespeare shows in your school.
The Players are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Bell Shakespeare is a COVID Safe registered business and is in regular contact with the Department of Education in regards to our work in schools. Our COVID-19 procedures and policies align with government advice as it is updated.
This is always a spectacular incursion. When I think we couldn't possibly match the previous performance, the Players prove me wrong.
Sharon Behl-Shanks, Jamberoo Public School NSW
Years 2 - 7
1-hour incursion (50 min performance + 10 min Q&A)
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WILL
By Joanna Erskine
Travel back to 1599 and meet William Shakespeare himself, as well as a host of memorable characters from history, in this spirited, funny and informative show.
The Wonderful World of Will offers students the perfect introduction to the world of Shakespeare, combining historical facts with excerpts from a range of Shakespeare’s most famous plays from comedy to romance to tragedy. Students will learn about Shakespeare’s classic characters, language, word inventions, and even perform some Shakespeare of their own.
A rollicking ride that will inspire young minds to journey further into the world of Shakespeare, The Wonderful World of Will is sure to delight students and adults alike. Strap yourselves in for your journey back in time to Elizabethan England - just watch out you don’t lose your head!
Years 7 - 10
1-hour incursion (50 min performance + 10 min Q&A)
SUCH SWEET SORROW
By Joanna Erskine and Matt Edgerton
One ancient grudge, one lifechanging connection, and one society forever changed. Romeo and Juliet remains a rollercoaster ride of passion and violence, and a tale that, generations on, we continue returning to. Join The Players as they retell Shakespeare's classic from youthful innocence to tragic conclusion, via modern commentary interweaved with Shakespeare's original text.
Such Sweet Sorrow is an engaging and interactive performance experience for students and teachers that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats, from first sight to final breath. In 50 minutes The Players will journey through the entire story, discussing character motivations, illuminating themes and analysing language techniques and narrative devices.
Years 10 - 12
1-hour incursion (50 min performance + 10 min Q&A)
MACBETH: THE REHEARSAL
By Joanna Erskine
A director has called their two leading actors to a special rehearsal of the ‘Scottish Play’, and your students are invited to observe. The show opens in two weeks and things are not looking good. It’s crunch time to engage with Shakespeare’s classic tragedy and transform text into performance. Become a fly on the wall for this fictional rehearsal, with illuminating and entertaining results.
Macbeth: The Rehearsal invites students to play observer and participant in this immersive and interactive show. Watch The Players play and replay with famous scenes and soliloquies from Macbeth. Witness the play’s trajectory blur with the actors’ own journeys, discovering key motivations, themes, language techniques and plot devices. This is a show that celebrates theatre-making, storytelling and the power of the imagination, within an engaging contemporary narrative.
BOOK A PERFORMANCE
Submit a booking form for 2026
The Players Performances 2026
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27 Apr -
21 Sept27 Apr -
21 SeptSydney
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27 Apr
27 Apr
Central Coast / Newcastle
27 April – 3 May 2026
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04 May
04 May
Newcastle / Hunter Region
4 – 10 May 2026
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25 May
25 May
Southern Highlands/South Coast
25 – 31 May 2026
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18 May
18 May
Wollongong / Nowra
18 – 24 May 2026
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15 June
15 June
Port Macquarie / Nambucca
15 – 21 June 2026
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22 June
22 June
Coffs Harbour
22 – 28 June 2026
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29 June
29 June
Northern Rivers
29 June – 5 July 2026
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11 May
11 May
Bathurst / Orange
11 – 17 May 2026
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04 May
04 May
Tamworth/Armidale
4 – 10 May 2026
Primary Performances:
$1,100 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $7.50 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Secondary Performances:
$1,350 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $9 each up to maximum audience of 200.
$1,100 per performance for schools with an ICSEA value of 1000 or less, for up to 140 students. Additional students $8 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Check your school’s ICSEA value at My School.
The Players’ performances are GST exempt.
Subsidies
Schools experiencing financial, socioeconomic and/or geographic challenges may apply for a Sharing Shakespeare subsidy.
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25 May -
01 June25 May -
01 JuneCanberra
25 May – 7 June 2026
Primary Performances:
$1,100 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $7.50 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Secondary Performances:
$1,350 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $9 each up to maximum audience of 200.
$1,100 per performance for schools with an ICSEA value of 1000 or less, for up to 140 students. Additional students $8 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Check your school’s ICSEA value at My School.
The Players’ performances are GST exempt.
Subsidies
Schools experiencing financial, socioeconomic and/or geographic challenges may apply for a Sharing Shakespeare subsidy.
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13 July -
20 July13 July -
20 JulyMelbourne
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27 July
27 July
Regional VIC
27 July – 2 August 2026
Primary Performances:
$1,100 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $7.50 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Secondary Performances:
$1,350 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $9 each up to maximum audience of 200.
$1,100 per performance for schools with an ICSEA value of 1000 or less, for up to 140 students. Additional students $8 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Check your school’s ICSEA value at My School.
The Players’ performances are GST exempt.
Subsidies
Schools experiencing financial, socioeconomic and/or geographic challenges may apply for a Sharing Shakespeare subsidy.
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13 July
13 July
Brisbane/Gold Coast
13 – 19 July 2026
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20 July
20 July
Regional QLD
20 – 26 July 2026
Primary Performances:
$1,100 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $7.50 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Secondary Performances:
$1,350 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $9 each up to maximum audience of 200.
$1,100 per performance for schools with an ICSEA value of 1000 or less, for up to 140 students. Additional students $8 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Check your school’s ICSEA value at My School.
The Players’ performances are GST exempt.
Subsidies
Schools experiencing financial, socioeconomic and/or geographic challenges may apply for a Sharing Shakespeare subsidy.
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03 Aug -
17 Aug03 Aug -
17 AugAdelaide
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24 Aug
24 Aug
Regional SA
24 – 30 August 2026
Primary Performances:
$1,100 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $7.50 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Secondary Performances:
$1,350 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $9 each up to maximum audience of 200.
$1,100 per performance for schools with an ICSEA value of 1000 or less, for up to 140 students. Additional students $8 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Check your school’s ICSEA value at My School.
The Players’ performances are GST exempt.
Subsidies
Schools experiencing financial, socioeconomic and/or geographic challenges may apply for a Sharing Shakespeare subsidy.
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15 June -
22 June15 June -
22 JuneHobart
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29 June
29 June
Launceston / Devonport
Primary Performances:
$1,100 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $7.50 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Secondary Performances:
$1,350 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $9 each up to maximum audience of 200.
$1,100 per performance for schools with an ICSEA value of 1000 or less, for up to 140 students. Additional students $8 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Check your school’s ICSEA value at My School.
The Players’ performances are GST exempt.
Subsidies
Schools experiencing financial, socioeconomic and/or geographic challenges may apply for a Sharing Shakespeare subsidy.
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07 Sept
07 Sept
Northern Territory/Alice Springs
Primary Performances:
$1,100 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $7.50 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Secondary Performances:
$1,350 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $9 each up to maximum audience of 200.
$1,100 per performance for schools with an ICSEA value of 1000 or less, for up to 140 students. Additional students $8 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Check your school’s ICSEA value at My School.
The Players’ performances are GST exempt.
Subsidies
Schools experiencing financial, socioeconomic and/or geographic challenges may apply for a Sharing Shakespeare subsidy.
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17 Aug -
24 Aug17 Aug -
24 AugPerth
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31 Aug
31 Aug
Perth/Bunbury
Primary Performances:
$1,100 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $7.50 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Secondary Performances:
$1,350 per performance for up to 140 students. Additional students $9 each up to maximum audience of 200.
$1,100 per performance for schools with an ICSEA value of 1000 or less, for up to 140 students. Additional students $8 each up to maximum audience of 200.
Check your school’s ICSEA value at My School.
The Players’ performances are GST exempt.
Subsidies
Schools experiencing financial, socioeconomic and/or geographic challenges may apply for a Sharing Shakespeare subsidy.