From primary school halls to the Sydney Opera House

Growing up in Orange, Eleni Cassimatis dreamt of a career on the stage. She started performing in school productions as early as kindergarten and went on to participate in every local production she could get involved in.

Now she’s taking Australia by storm as a cast member in the prestigious Australian theatre company, Bell Shakespeare’s latest production of Macbeth — currently playing at the Sydney Opera House until April 2, before travelling to Canberra and Melbourne.

In this production, Shakespeare’s famous tale of Macbeth’s murderous rise to the throne has been given a more modern twist, setting the story in the aftermath of World War I, a period that saw a growing interest in the occult.

“Our director, Peter Evans, has chosen to set our production at the end of World War I. We’re looking at more around 1921-1922, and we open the show with us coming out of the war. This was also a particular time in which there was a rise in seances, and wanting to connect with the dead. He wanted to explore what that would do for this production,” Eleni said. 

“It’s contemporary, it’s relevant. It’s a quest for power. It’s punchy and fast-paced. And most

importantly, come to see Hazem Shammas and Jessica Tovey who play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Their performances are electric, exciting, nightmare-inducing and utterly heartbreaking.”

Eleni is playing one of the three witches who deliver the prophecy that sets Macbeth on his murderous course, as well as Donalbain, Macduff's son and other supporting roles.

She said it was the school plays and her experiences in local productions that saw her decide to pursue a career in theatre. And so, after high school, she moved to Sydney to study acting at the Actors Centre Australia.

Since completing her tertiary education, Elini has been fortunate enough to land back-to-back Australian and International tours, first with Poetry in Action, then with Bell Shakespeare as one of their “Players”. It was after this that she landed a role in Bell Shakespeare’s production of Hamlet.

“That was kind of my first main-stage gig with the company, and my debut at the Opera House,” Eleni said, who then went on to perform in The Comedy of Errors with the company.

“I’ve learnt so much as an artist working for Bell Shakespeare. The company as a whole is so supportive of young artists and their careers, and they are just the most beautiful human beings to get to work with. The calibre of work Bell always produces has me in awe constantly, and Peter Evans’ vision for this production is truly remarkable.”

Eleni said it has been a pleasure to work with all the talented actors in the Bell Shakespeare company and she feels like she’s learnt so much from them.

“From a creative point of view, some of the actors I’ve been lucky enough to be working alongside, it’s just such a treat,” she said, “and I’ve learnt so much from watching them work. I just feel so fortunate.“