Margaret River Senior High School graduate Annabel Bancroft wins prestigious Bell Shakespeare honour

A Margaret River high school graduate has secured the win of her young lifetime, selected as one of four students across the country for a prestigious theatre scholarship.

Annabel Bancroft, a 2024 Margaret River Senior High School graduate, was ecstatic at news she would fly to Sydney to study under Australia’s foremost Shakespearean theatre proponent John Bell.

Bancroft and other winners will spend a week with the Bell Shakespeare Company with the chance for direct learning as well as behind the scenes knowledge as the professional actors gear up for a production of Henry V.

The week culminates in Bancroft and her fellow students presenting one of the Bard’s monologues before the cast of the latest production and receiving notes and general feedback.

The 17-year-old told the Times she was thrilled despite trepidation around the experience as she prepared to deliver a soliloquy from King Lear.

“When I first heard that I had been selected for the John Bell Scholarship, I couldn’t believe it,” she told the Times.

“Having the opportunity to fly to Sydney and work directly with the Bell Shakespeare Company is such an incredible honour.

“I can’t wait to observe live theatre from behind the scenes.”

Bancroft caught the theatre bug at age nine in a local pantomime.

“I was hooked, not just by the set and costumes, but also the rush of being on stage,” she said.

“I have a deep love of community and storytelling.

“I owe a lot of my passion and knowledge to my fellow drama students and teachers at MRSHS, including drama teachers Meredith McCormack, Amy Johnstone and Judith Westaway.”

Bell Shakespeare artistic director Peter Evans said the scholarship was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for young regional Australian theatre talent.

“It’s a privilege to nurture emerging talent and to share Shakespeare’s works with the next generation of artists,” Evans said.

“This year’s auditions showcased extraordinary enthusiasm and skill.”

Company founder Bell said this year’s shortlist was a stand-out.

“I was very impressed by the intelligence and engagement of all the shortlisted students,” he said.

“The standard of performance is the highest I have seen in all these years. Choosing the top four students proved very difficult.”

Although Bancroft dreamed of a career in the theatre, she would go to the University of WA in 2026 to study social work unless life took a different course.

In the interim, she planned to work as a drama coach, counsellor and water sport specialist at Camp America in Pennsylvania.