A ‘Worldly” Actor

With Around The World in Eighty Days ready to burst onto our stages, Coral Drouyn talks to leading man Ian Stenlake.

Ian Stenlake is exactly what you would expect from one of our most prolific leading men; charming, self-effacing and warm, not to mention easy on the eye, though he admits he was even more so a decade ago.

Only weeks after finishing a long run in Georgy Girl, he moved straight into rehearsals for Around The World in Eighty Days - adapted from the Jules Verne novel, and the movie it inspired, it tells the story of Phineas Fogg who accepts a bet that he can fly around the world in a hot air balloon in eighty days. It’s one of those madcap shows in which three actors play dozens of parts with great hilarity. And Ian doesn’t sing a note in it.

“You know,” he tells me, “I’m seen foremost as a music theatre person, but I’ve always been an actor who sings, rather than a singer who acts.”

Nowhere was this more obvious than his television years, as Mike Flynn in Sea Patrol and Oscar Stone in Stingers.

“They were both meaty acting roles, and they gave me a profile that you just don’t get on stage, but then I’ve loved doing shows like Oklahoma! and They’re Playing Our Song (both of which earned him Helpmann Awards). I love to sing, even though I didn’t have a lesson until I was 20 - I was a late starter in a lot of things,” he says.

“It was about that time I got talked into acting,” Ian chuckles at the memory. “I was on one of those overseas trips that young guys always take before they supposedly knuckle down to studying hard at Uni. I was going to do medicine, and sometimes I still wonder if I made the right choice.”

So how does a holiday in Italy lead to becoming an actor?

“Pure chance,” Ian explains. “A friend got me a job as an extra on the film The Godfather III and I was hooked. I guess I had the kind of ‘look’ they were after, but honestly I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. So as soon as I got back to Australia I asked around about lessons and someone suggested I try out for NIDA, and, miraculously, I was accepted - thank the stars for that.”

It’s a big change from a large cast Main Stage Musical to a small cast comedy play. Much like The 39 Steps and The Complete Works of Shakespeare in 90 Minutes, 80 Days is a romp, with the three actors playing 39 roles.

“I think the trick is to just remember who you are playing at any given moment,” Ian explains. His co-stars are Pia Miranda and Grant Piro, and this isn’t the first time Ian has worked with them both.

“As luck would have it, they both made guest appearances on Patrol Boat, so we got to hang out as well as act together,” he explains. “It makes rehearsals so much simpler, and more pleasant for us on this show. We don’t have to second guess anything - we know the way each other works and rehearsals are a total delight. It’s also a great time-saver for us. I’m loving working with them both. And it’s a family friendly show, and a great way to introduce kids to the theatre. There really aren’t enough of those.

I asked Ian a stock question of what role, across any time period, he would have liked to play.

“Honestly, I would have liked to play Romeo, but when I was young enough, no way was I good enough. But I have no complaints about being Phineas Fogg. He’s an amazing character and I loved the film when I was a kid. I’m not David Niven, but I think I can channel a little bit of that suave British air.

Around The World in Eighty Days starts previews tonight (August 23, 2016) at the Alex Theatre in St Kilda, and opens officially on Saturday 27^th.