Speak The Speech by Bell Shakespeare

Richard II from Richard II Act 5, Scene 5 performed by Maitland Schnaars 

This week on Speak The Speech, we are joined by one of Western Australia’s premier Indigenous contemporary theatre artists, Maitland Schnaars. In this episode, Maitland discusses his role in the 2022 touring production of The Comedy of Errors and the physicality of Shakespeare’s works. He also shares his experience of working in contemporary and traditional Noongar dance, Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company’s production of Hecate, and what it would be like to tour Noongar language works out of Country. Maitland Schnaars co-founded the international theatre company Corazon de Vaca and has performed and co-created a number of their productions, both in Spain and in Perth, Australia. He has recently performed in productions for Black Swan Theatre Company, Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, a co-production for Queensland Theatre Company and Griffin Theatre Company, a national tour for Tasmania Performs and assistant directed and performed for WAYTCO (Western Australian Youth Theatre Company).  

He has worked with many independent theatre companies in Perth and continues to work with artists from various backgrounds such as dance, multimedia and music. In 2016, he won Performing Arts WA Best Actor award. He is also a member of Wadumbah Noongah Dance Group.  

Find out more about Bell Shakespeare online: https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/ and follow us on socials @bellshakespeare 

Andy from Just Macbeth! by Andy Griffiths performed by Andy Griffiths  

Welcome to season three of Bell Shakespeare’s podcast Speak The Speech! In this episode, Andy Griffiths talks to host James Evans about writing his Shakespeare adaptions Just Macbeth! and Just Romeo & Juliet!, how he inserts himself into his work, workshopping his plays and watching them come to life, the parallels between Macbeth and Hamlet, and his crucial collaborative relationships. Recorded live from Melbourne in May 2022. Andy Griffiths is one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors. His writing credits include The Day My Bum Went Psycho and the following trilogy; his extensive collaborations with illustrator Terry Denton including the Just series and the Treehouse series have sold over 10 million copies worldwide, won 80 children’s choice awards and 10 Australian Book Industry Awards—including Book of the Year for The 52-Storey Treehouse in 2015. Five of his books have been adapted for the stage and have all had sell-out seasons at Sydney Opera House, as well as highly successful tours through the Netherlands, New Zealand, and America. He is a passionate advocate for literacy and in 2015 was awarded the Dromkeen Medal to honour his outstanding contribution to Australian children’s literature. He is also an ambassador for both The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the Pyjama Foundation.

Find out more about Bell Shakespeare online: https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/ and follow us on socials @bellshakespeare

Bell Shakespeare 2022 is here! Catch up on the 2022 season announcement in this bonus live episode. Artistic Director Peter Evans talks to James Evans and shares all the details of what's in store in 2022 – one of Bell Shakespeare's biggest seasons to date. They are joined by actor Harriet Gordon-Anderson, director Janine Watson and writer Laura Murphy. 

Bell Shakespeare season packages are now on sale. Explore the season and book a package today: https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/

Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing Act 4, Scene 1 performed by Grace Truman  

In the final episode of Season Two of Speak The Speech Grace Truman join us to perform and talk about Beatrice’s speech from Act 4 Scene 1 of Much Ado About Nothing. Grace shares her experience as a young actor, juggling school and performing, and how Shakespeare can articulate any emotion you are feeling. Grace Truman is an actor and writer. She made her professional theatre debut at the age of 14 in the National Theatre of Parramatta’s production of Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam, reprising the role in 2020 for Belvoir. For Bell Shakespeare she has appeared in Titus Andronicus. Grace co-created, wrote and starred in the acclaimed web series amazing Grace. She has won numerous awards, including Best Female Performance at the London International Web Fest, an Award of Excellence at IndieFest USA, and was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Sydney Theatre Awards.

Duke Senior from As You Like It Act 2, Scene 1 performed by Kyle Morrison 

Kyle Morrison joins us on Speak The Speech to perform Duke Senior’s speech from Act 2 Scene 1 of As You Like It. He talks about building cultural legacy through art, his passion for decolonising Shakespeare and what it’s like to be putting on a play during a pandemic. Kyle is a Noongar man, an actor and director. From 2009 to 2019 he was Artistic Director of Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company, and was the creative instigator of Hecate, the Noongar retelling of Macbeth, which premiered at the Perth Festival in 2020. His performance in that show won him Best Supporting Actor at the Performing Arts WA Awards. His directing credits include Honey Spot, Mother’s Tongue, Kaarla Kaatijin, SkyLab (with Black Swan Theatre Company) The Cake Man (with Belvoir), Sista Girl (with the State Theatre Company of South Australia), King Hit (awarded WA’s Best Production of 2015), and Ice Land: A Hip-h’Opera. He'll soon be appearing as Oberon in Bell Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 1, Scene 1 performed by Gabrielle Scawthorn 

Gabrielle Scawthorn joins us to perform Helena’s soliloquy from the opening scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She talks about playing Helena, creating her own work, what it’s like to audition with food poisoning and why her dream Shakespeare role may be an unconventional choice. Gabrielle Scawthorn is an actor and writer. She is a three-time Sydney Theatre Award nominee and appears as Helena in Bell Shakespeare’s 2021 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Her previous theatre credits include The Apologists at Omnibus Theatre in London; E-Baby and Blood Bank for the Ensemble Theatre; Stop Kiss at ATYP; The Village Bike at The Old Fitz and The Sound of Waiting for Darlinghurst Theatre. She is the host of the popular podcast Back From Reality which explores the world of reality television and the impact that it has on the lives of its participants. 

You can follow Gabrielle on Instagram @gjosca and listen to Back to Reality here.

You can find out more about Bell Shakespeare’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream here.

Gloucester from Henry VI Act 3, Scene 2 performed by Paula Arundell 

In this episode Paula Arundell joins James to perform and discuss Richard Gloucester’s speech from Act 3 of Henry VI Part 3. They speak about the complexity of a ‘villain’ and how actors approach such characters in the rehearsal room. Paula recounts her extensive career in Australia, from early Shakespeare performances to her current role as Hermione in the Melbourne production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Paula Arundell is a multi-award-winning actor who has worked with Bell Shakespeare, Belvoir, Sydney Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company and Ensemble Theatre.

is Bell Shakespeare’s Perth Season Partner.