Quite apart from making it a habit, Cathy Bates is quite looking forward to having her eyeballs torn out again. Or rather, her character’s.
Not that the Illawarra theatre veteran is pro-violence or detests being the Duke of Gloucester; it just means she’s back on the boards doing what she has loved for decades.
Fans of Coniston’s doughty Phoenix Theatre last year saw Cathy’s Gloucester relieved of his globus oculi (by the Duke of Cornwall, played by Andrew Gorban) in a superb rendition of King Lear.
Mild-mannered public servants off stage, Shakespearian rivals on stage, Cathy and Andrew revive their roles in The House of Gloucester, an adaptation steered by Phoenix champion Steen, who also directed King Lear.
‘’With this new version we wanted to explore the ritual nature of the play – themes deeply embedded in the original are brought to the surface,’’ said Steen, known for his adaptation, who had short shrift for any purists who might claim such work somehow dishonours the Bard.
‘’Shakespeare has been re-interpreted by companies ever since the first production. It is not the word of God – it is a script written by a working actor for the audience of the day. Frankly, the ‘butchering Shakespeare’ line is spoken by those who learnt it at school with no real notion of how theatre works.’’
Cathy inherited her mother’s love of theatre, often putting her hand up at school before her first Arcadians role in South Pacific in 1978. Beyond musicals, she headed outdoors on two Shakespeare in the Gardens productions in the Wollongong before a move to Workshop Theatre for several productions, including Dangerous Liaisons, then to Dodo Express under Steen for Wuthering Heights.
She took a 15-year hiatus to sing professionally first in duos, then a seven-piece soul band, before returning to theatre.
Cathy has loved playing several small roles in one production. “That’s a real challenge – finding a different ‘voice’ and physicality for each is exciting. I also like to play against type.
“Villains are fun, as long as I can find something to like about them,’’ she said. “Complicated characters give you so much to work with and I also love gender-swapped roles as you can bring a new perspective to the character.
‘’I do love Gloucester because he/she gives me a chance to play someone in extremis.’’
With multi-sensory storytelling and technical elements, The House of Gloucester is on stage from May 2 to 10. Tickets from trybooking.com.
It’s virtually a Shakespeare season at Phoenix, with a staging of Much Ado About Nothing from July 25 to August 2nd.
Also in May: Crimes of the Heart
Workshop Theatre is staging a Pulitzer Prize winner from May 2 to 17, with three sisters being forced to deal with the fallout of past doings in mid-century Mississippi in Crimes of the Heart.