Article: WA Today: Wednesday June 10th, 2009

William McInnes jumps back into the saddle for Equus

• Daile Pepper
• June 10, 2009

Author William McInnes will star in Equus. Photo: Lorrie Graham

He's jokey, he's Aussie blokey and about to step back onto the stage to play one of the most challenging parts in modern theatre.

William McInnes, Australian Film Institute award winning actor, loves to share a laugh and tell a tale.

Like the time he needed to ride a horse for a job and flailed about atop the animal brandishing a stockman's whip after the horse's backside was pinched and it raced off. There was no useable footage captured.

Or when he took part in a dodgy Perth play back in the day and a peacock "went off its trolley" after a coffin was dropped on its babies.

Or being scoffed at by a "wanker" bartender at The Queens years ago when he asked for a Stella Artois but failed to pronounce the second word in a suitably stuffy manner.

The actor was trained at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts and has fond memories of the State.

"One of the funniest nights I've had in Perth, was when I lived in Bennett Street and there was a little Macedonian club in North Perth," he said.

"There was a Swiss night and they were all dressed up in lederhosen and yelling Woo Hoo! They did something with milk barrels. It was surreal, I had a great night."

Mc Innes will return to Perth this September to play the lead in one of the most well-known provocative plays of modern times, Equus.

The contemporary classic by Sir Peter Shaffer will be brought to town by the Perth Theatre Company and His Majesty's Theatre - the first time the work has been performed outside Broadway and London's West End for about 30 years.

The story, recently performed to critical acclaim by Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway, is a provocative and challenging piece of drama.

McInnes will play psychiatrist Martin Dyrst, who works with a younger man who has an unhealthy fixation with horses following a horrific attack by the boy on a number of the animals.

"It's always good to test yourself out with a role this size, give yourself a bit of fright and get back in the saddle," McInnes said during a short trip to Perth.

"Not that I want to use the horse metaphor too much."

McInnes will star with young Austalian actor Khan Chittenden, who has most recently been seen in Packed to the Rafters, Dangerous and Clubland.

He said it was exciting to get back on stage after spending more of his time writing books and doing less challenging jobs in film and television.

"This is a play that puts big ideas out there for people to think about," he said.

"It's about what life is and how you live it, how you should live a life. What is important. It's a really fascinating play, some of it's pretty macabre and out there.

Equus will be the first time he has stepped onto the stage since performing in My Fair Lady a few years back. He makes no apologies for the confrontational themes, saying theatre was not all about songs, smiles and fart jokes. Though it was important to not get caught up in believing the work was so important it wasn't necessary to be entertaining.

"It's a big play, and it deals with big themes. It's a really good workout for an actor. A real wrestle," he said.

"It's an entertaining play but it's a drama. And it's not happening anywhere else in Australia."

Equus comes to His Majesty's Theatre on September 12. Tickets are available through BOCS. 

Afternoon Tea with William McInnes

A cute article from ABC Perth with photographs, of afternoon tea with William McInnes.

Click here to go to article.

There is also a podcast at the bottom of the page. Or click here.

Article: WA Today, Friday May 15th, 2009

Equus coup brings provocative play to Perth

Daile Pepper

The Perth Theatre Company has won exclusive rights to bringEquus - the controversial play in which Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe appeared naked on stage - to Australia.

The company scored exclusive southern hemisphere rights to the play. The September season of Sir Peter Shaffer's work will be the first time Equus has been professionally performed outside of Broadway and London's West End for nearly 30 years.

Actor William McInnes, who won the best actor Australian Film Institute award last year, will star as psychiatrist Martin Dysart in the confronting play about the professional's treatment of a stable boy who commits a horrific act of violence against some horses.

Equus is the story of the 17-year-old boy, to be played by Khan Chittenden from Packed to the Rafters, and the sexual and religious mystery behind his actions. It delves deep into the psyche of the young man.

During its recent Broadway season the show received rave reviews, with Radcliffe starring alongside fellow Harry Potteractor Richard Griffiths. The part of the psychiatrist has also been played over the years by actors including Anthony Hopkins and Richard Burton.

The initiative to bring the play to Perth was a joint one by the PTC and His Majesty's Theatre.

His Majesty's Theatre general manager Rodney Phillips said their collaboration on Shaffer's Amadeus in 2006 had led to the two organisations working together again on Equus.

The Perth Theatre Company's general manager, Tony Bonney, said Equus was one of the greatest plays of the twentieth century.

"Equus will be the most notable event in the Australian theatre calendar this year," he said.

"The fact that we have this opportunity over far larger companies across the country is testament to the company's commitment to text-based theatre."

Article: The West Australian, Tuesday May 2nd, 2009

McInnes Rides into Town for Equus

Australian actor William McInnes will play the lead role in the first Perth production of Peter Shaffer’s provocative play Equus in more than 30 years. 
   
The WAAPA-trained McInnes will play psychiatrist Martin Dysart, whose sessions with a disturbed stable boy takes the form of a detective thriller as he explores various sexual, religious and social taboos. 
   
Rising Australian star Khan Chittenden (Packed to the Rafters) will play the youth Alan Strang, a role for which Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe recently dropped his pants on Broadway. 
   
The Perth Theatre Company has billed the September 12-26 season at Majesty’s Theatre a “southern hemisphere” exclusive because the rights to Equus are tightly guarded and it has not been professionally produced outside London or New York for three decades. The play was last seen in Perth in 1975. 
   
McInnes, who filmed The Shark Net in Perth in 2002, said he was thrilled to be coming back to take on one of the most significant roles in contemporary theatre. 
   
“His Majesty’s is a wonderful venue and I’m really looking forward to working with all the mob at the Perth Theatre Company to bring this great piece of theatre to as many people of Perth as possible.” 
   
STEPHEN BEVIS