Sunday Mail (SA)
SUN
Hail the Lord of letters
By MATT BYRNE
David Wenham is fired up for an absorbing festival
production which explores the tormented life of tragic genius Vincent van Gogh,
says MATT BYRNE
WHEN David Wenham posed for artist Adam Cullen, he never realised where the portrait would lead.
The painting won the 2000 Archibald Prize. And when
acclaimed director Richard Wherrett saw the portrait,
he was immediately struck by the film and TV actor's resemblance to artist
Vincent van Gogh.
Wherrett had long wanted to
present a work combining Gustav Mahler's Earth Symphony with a staged reading
of letters by Van Gogh, written during his most prolific and memorable period
of work in the 1880s.
``Richard approached me about it and I was very interested
but the project never got any further at that stage,'' Wenham said. ``I was
roughly the same age as Van Gogh when Adam painted my portrait, and I share a
great love of nature.''
Wherrett died the next year and
the project lapsed, until artistic director Brett Sheehy
decided to revive it again for the 2006 Adelaide Festival.
Sheehy announced the show, Songs From The Yellow Room, last October but delayed announcing
the actor who would present the letters. His patience paid off when Wenham
could finally say ``Yes'' two weeks ago.
``The project had intrigued me greatly and it was great to
be able to finally do it,'' the Lord of the Rings and SeaChange
star said.
``Since then, it's been quite amazing throwing myself into researching Van Gogh's life, his work and the
show.
``It's really fired up my creative juices and got the
adrenalin flowing and it's extremely nerve-racking packing in so much in such a
short time. I wish I had six months to work on it.
``But we have to make the most of every minute now and
preparing for the show will give me a taste of the intensity of Van Gogh and
the way he approached life.''
Songs From The Yellow Room is an
operatic song cycle featuring mezzo soprano Bernadette Cullen, tenor Keith
Lewis and the Australian Youth Orchestra. It's directed by Adam Cook, who
Wenham worked with years ago in the original stage production of Louis Nowra's Cosi for Belvoir St Theatre in
Wenham said he would present six of Van Gogh's letters and
there would be six songs. The connection between the music and the letters was
``both artists' love of nature''.
``Mahler's The Song of the Earth is very moving and Vincent
van Gogh loved nature and had a unique view of the landscape,'' he said.
``Van Gogh set out to present the world in a different
light, in a different perspective, and his paintings during this period were
among the greatest works he produced.''
Wenham said the difference between himself and Van Gogh was
``I can switch off''.
``He was totally consumed by his work but I am happy to just
live an ordinary life away from the business.
``Vincent totally immersed himself in the world he was
recreating on canvas. I am passionate about my craft, too, but I know that I
have another life that I am very happy with.
``The tragedy of Van Gogh is he died never knowing how
special his work was, how special he was.
``The letters are a poignant look inside the mind and the
heart of a genius and Mahler's music will make an evocative companion for his
thoughts.''
Wenham said Van Gogh's correspondence was extensive.
``He wrote hundreds of letters, mainly to his brother, Theo,
who was an art merchant who supported Vincent throughout his career.
``The letters reveal much about Van Gogh and I believe The
Songs From The Yellow Room will show a new side of him to the audience.''
Wenham said being part of an Adelaide Festival was
``something I have wanted to do for many years''.
``I spent two weeks here back in 1996 seeing up to three
shows in Barrie Kosky's festival and it was one of
the greatest times of my life,'' he said. ``There are many other festivals
around
Wenham himself is no stranger to acclaim, with an
accomplished career ranging from Moulin Rouge and The Boys to the action of Van
Helsing.
``Van Helsing was a lot of fun,
but I don't think there'll be another one,'' he said. ``The Boys was an amazing
project; performing it live at the small Stables in Kings Cross in Sydney and
seeing people lined up down the street hoping for a ticket from a cancellation
was something I'll never forget. Brett was a powerful character to play, just
out of prison and looking for trouble.''
Playing Faramir in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy was an ``incredible experience'. ``Just
seeing how much energy and meticulous planning went into the trilogy was
mind-blowing,'' he said. ``You just knew it was going to be something very
special.'' It also produced some funny moments.
``My horse hated me,'' he said. ``I had ridden horses before
and had no problems, but right from the start we never got on. It was a tense
relationship. He was quite stroppy and always glad to
get back to his trailer. Everyone thought it was funny but me.''
Wenham's latest project is the mini-series Answered by Fire.
``It's based on the election for
``It was a very dangerous situation for the Aussies who went
there as they were not allowed to carry a weapon and were armed only with
commonsense and diplomacy.
``It is loosely based on a book by David Savage, a Federal
policeman, called Bitter Dawn:
``It's a very powerful contemporary story that needs to be
told.''
Wenham said Australians needed to tell more of their own
stories.
``Especially in film and TV, where it is getting harder to
fight for space for Australian projects,'' he said.
``When the government signed the Free Trade Agreement with
the
Wenham said being Australian meant ``being special''.
``It's great to appear in films overseas and adopt accents
and get nice pay packets, but I like being an Australian. I like using an
Australian accent in my work. We should be doing more here to keep our industry
and culture alive.''
Away from the spotlight, his family life with long-time
partner Kate Agnew and daughter Eliza Jane is happy.
``I keep it private because I like to keep things normal,
but we have a beautiful little girl and life is good.
``And now I'd better get back to these letters!''
Songs From The Yellow Roomis at
Instant expert
Born: David Wenham on
l Was the youngest of seven
children, with five older sisters and an older brother.
l Nickname is ``Daisy''.
l At school he did impersonations
in front of the class, particularly of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
l Called bingo in
l Was cast as Faramir
in the last two The Lord of the Rings epics because of his resemblance to
on-screen brother Sean Bean.
Caption: Man of
letters: David Wenham will perform in Songs From The
Yellow Room at the Adelaide Festival.
Illus: Photo: david whenam
Column: inside
entertainment
Section: FEATURES
Type: Article