John Bell
Recognised as a National Living Treasure, John Bell is a trailblazer in the development of Australian theatre, with leadership lessons to share of Shakespearian magnitude.
John Bell is one of the nation’s most illustrious theatre personalities. Award-winning actor, acclaimed director, risk-taking impresario, torch-bearing educationalist and speaker on leadership; John has been a key figure in shaping the nation’s theatrical identity as we know it over the past 50 years.
A trailblazer right from his very beginnings, John founded The Bell Shakespeare Company in 1990 where he served as Director until 2015. His productions include over 15 of Shakespeare’s greatest works, which have been played to almost 2.5 million Australians.
Bell has received recognition from many bodies for his leadership and significant contributions to national culture. He is an Officer of the Order of Australia and the Order of the British Empire; has an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the Universities of Sydney, New South Wales and Newcastle; and was recognised in 1997 by the National Trust of Australia as one of Australia’s Living Treasures.
John is an unforgettable speaker. His presentations are infused with humour, surprising insights, enthralling readings and leadership lessons stemming not just from John’s incredible story of passion, trials & success but also from the minds and deeds of Shakespeare’s most notable and polarising characters.
John is a powerful, engaging and impactful speaker who is creative, wise and a little bit magical.
Creative Director, Commonwealth Bank
What does it take to leave an enduring legacy? Unique talent; Passion for excellence; Connection with your audience; Compelling performance.
BHP Billiton
"He was not of an Age, but for all time." This comment was made about Shakespeare, but we also think it holds true for John Bell...
BHP Billiton
The company's founder and artistic director, John Bell AO, has shown leadership and vision in putting the company at the centre of Australia's cultural life.
Malcolm Turnbull, prime minister of Australia
John, we are indeed glad that you chose no other course, because we have benefited greatly from the passion you have brought to the company, and to the performing arts more generally.
Malcolm Turnbull, prime minister of Australia
My speaking topics...
See me...
https://odemanagement.com/speakers/john-bell#sigProIdbf671e1785
Some Achieve Greatness
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Around the globe people have been crying out for “Leadership”: demanding it, begging for it. From the farcical spectacle of short-lived Australian prime ministers shoving each other through the revolving door to scandalous failures of governance in Australia's financial institutions and the moral abyss in church leadership to the mess of Brexit and the chaotic unpredictability of the Trump administration, and now the greatest leadership challenge since World War II: Covid-19. Stable, reliable, sensible leadership has been in short supply.
We often resort to the word 'Shakespearean' to explain our dramatic times. And indeed, we can learn a lot from Shakespeare about leadership – good and bad. The world's greatest analyst of human behaviour and motivation; a man well acquainted with crises of leadership in tumultuous times; a man whose dry wit, bottomless empathy enabled him to encapsulate countless valuable life lessons that still ring with relevance today.
As someone who has spent a good deal of the last seventy-something years studying, performing and directing Shakespeare's plays, John Bell has absorbed quite a few valuable lessons in life, character and leadership from the bard, and then put these to good use running two successful theatre companies. Some Achieve Greatness contains invaluable lessons on leadership, drawn from John Bell's extensive relationship with Shakespeare and his own experience as a cultural leader, illustrated with an irreverent and contemporary set of cartoons by Cathy Wilcox.
