Robert Menzies says he never expected to play Shakespeare’s King Lear.
On a sparkling late autumn afternoon, golden light bounces off the harbour and onto Bell Shakespeare’s mirrored foyer as actor Robert Menzies arrives.
Presence and intensity have characterised his performances, often in dark, tormented roles, for more than four decades. He seems an ideal choice as Lear, but it’s not one Menzies expected.And that’s the rub. Menzies, 68, has turned in memorable performances, appeared in groundbreaking productions and worked with edgy directors from Jean-Pierre Mignon and Barrie Kosky to Benedict Andrews.
That bare-bones approach appeals to Menzies, who has been drawn to Shakespearean roles throughout his career. Reams have been written about Lear, including that he’s demented, bipolar or psychotic, but Menzies is not interested in diagnosing him. Yet he gives his full and unhurried attention. When a prominent theatre colleague barrels over and they greet each other warmly, Menzies politely explains he’s doing an interview and picks up where we’ve left off.“I would just refuse to answer,” he says. “So, some interviews just finished quite abruptly.”Menzies grew up a quiet child in a large Melbourne family, the third of six children to his real estate valuer father and primary school principal mother.
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