John Bell

Biography

John Bell is the founder and former Artistic Director of the Bell Shakespeare Company and one of Australia’s most acclaimed theatre personalities. In a career of acting and directing, John has been instrumental in shaping the Australian theatre industry as we know it. After graduating from the University of Sydney in 1962, John worked for the Old Tote Theatre Company, all of Australia’s state theatre companies and was an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the United Kingdom. He is an Officer of the Order of Australia and the Order of the British Empire and has an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the Universities of Sydney, New South Wales and Newcastle. In 1997 he was named by the National Trust of Australia as one of Australia’s Living Treasures. In 2003 the Australia Business Arts Foundation awarded John the Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Cultural Leadership Award. His many awards as an actor and director include a Helpmann Award for Best Actor (2007), a Producers and Directors Guild Award for Lifetime Achievement and the JC Williamson Award (2009) for extraordinary contribution to Australia’s live entertainment industry and the 2010 Sydney Theatre Award for Lifetime Achievement in recognition of his extraordinary career as an actor, director and producer.