The first play that Bell Shakespeare ever performed was Hamlet. Staged in a circus tent in the Sydney Showgrounds in January 1991, the production was directed by John Bell with John Polson as Hamlet, and played in repertoire with The Merchant of Venice.

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Bell Shakespeare is opening its 2020 season with a new production of Hamlet, directed by the company’s current Artistic Director Peter Evans. It’s the seventh time Bell Shakespeare has staged the play (or the 10th including the Education Program) with Christopher Stollery, Leon Ford, Brendan Cowell and Josh McConville among those playing Denmark’s “sweet prince”.

Harriet Gordon-Anderson. Photograph © Brett Boardman

This time, Harriet Gordon-Anderson takes on the title role, and turns in a dazzling performance. It’s not the first time, by any means, that a female actor has played Hamlet, but it’s an inspired piece of casting. Gordon-Anderson doesn’t play the character as a woman, nor does she throw in macho mannerisms. She simply is Hamlet. Her short hair, black trousers and black polo neck jumper give her something of an androgynous look anyway, and in next to no time you think of her only...