Dark Arcadia is a story about love. A story about revenge. And a story about the validity (or not) of taking justice into our own hands.

Examining the colliding worlds of rebelling teenagers and the adults charged with their care, inspired by world events and gender politics, this gothic fantasy is the next project from the universe of the internationally award-winning Shakespeare Republic, written and directed by Australian actor/writer/director, Sally McLean.

Primarily utilising the perspective of Gen Z, Dark Arcadia features some of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters interacting in a brand new narrative story, built from a range of Shakespeare texts. Akin to a Shakespearean "Into The Woods", this series is a unique gothic faerietale with a multiple story strand structure, set in a modern context.

Showcasing female, culturally diverse, disabled and LGBTQI+ (including trans) talent, using Shakespeare's original words, featuring eighteen different characters from seven different plays, Dark Arcadia explores power, relationships, grief and #MeToo in the style of a Grimm’s faerietale, set in the microcosm of an Australian high school - topped off with a touch of magic realism and a dash of food for thought.

Dark Arcadia … something wicked this way comes …

About the Project

ABOUT CREATOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR, SALLY McLEAN

An award-winning, multi-hyphenate creative, Sally McLean is first and foremost an actor, playing lead, guest and supporting roles in numerous Australian, US and UK film, theatre and television productions since her teens.

A graduate of The Actors Institute UK, some of Sally’s notable screen acting credits include the lead role of “Angie Powers” in the BAFTA Award-winning BBC mini series Bootleg, lead guest role of “Stacy” in the AACTA Award-winning ABC TV series Utopia  and recurring guest roles of “Miss Giddens” in the ABC/CBBC TV series The Worst Year of My Life – Again!  and “Barb” in the USA Sony/AMC TV series, Preacher.

She founded her own boutique production business, Incognita Enterprises, under the Honorary Patronage of Oscar® nominated actor, Sir Nigel Hawthorne KB, CBE in 1997 – an association that continued until his passing in 2001. Under the Incognita umbrella, she has created, written & directed numerous projects including the critically acclaimed and multi award-winning digital series Shakespeare Republic and it’s spin-off series Walking Shadows as well as the internationally awarded short film Speaking Daggers.

Predominately working in comedy on screen as an actor, Sally is also an experienced dramatic Shakespearean performer with Musical Theatre roots, playing over thirty lead and supporting roles on stage in both Australia and the UK. Recent acting accolade highlights include being nominated in a field that included Royal Shakespeare Company and Globe Theatre company members for “Outstanding Performance in a Principal Role (History)” for her “Queen Katherine” in Shakespeare’s Henry VIII for The Show Must Go Online at the Groundlings Choice Awards in the UK, winning “Best Actress in a Web Series” for playing “Macbeth” in Shakespeare Republic: #AllTheWebsAStage (The Lockdown Chronicles) at the BIFA qualifying Unrestricted View Film Festival also in the UK, as well as having her work honoured with a Highly Commended Finalist nod from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Shakespeare Film Festival, as adjudicated by Jury President, Sir Kenneth Branagh.

Sally is also the recipient of the prestigious CINE Golden Eagle Award for Best Digital Series in the USA for Season Two of Shakespeare Republic, which saw her join the ranks of fellow CINE Golden Eagle Award alumni such as Steven Spielberg (the then CINE President) Oprah Winfrey, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Jim Henson, Mike Nichols, Robert Altman, Spike Lee, Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese and Sydney Pollack, among others. Fellow award winners that year were Christian Slater’s Mr Robot, Variety’s Actors on Actors and National Geographic’s MARS series.

For Sally's full CV, visit: https://sallymclean.com/about-sally/
To see full cast & crew details, visit: https://darkarcadia.com/

About the Team

Love. Revenge. Rebellion. After the public shaming of one of their friends at school, three young women cook up their own unique brand of revenge. Dark Arcadia … something wicked this way comes …

Dark Arcadia

Series

Events

Events

Images

Details

Credits

Explore More

Dark Arcadia

Series

Events

Events

Images

Details

Credits

Creator/Writer/Director

Explore More