Q&A with performer Keith Robinson

Keith Robinson and Lucia Mastrantone in rehearsal for Twelfth Night. Photo by Brett Boardman

The casting of wheelchair user Keith Robinson as Feste in Belvoir’s Twelfth Night breaks new ground for performers with disabilities. Kate Hood spoke with him during the rehearsal period about the challenges and rewards of this unique opportunity.

Kate Hood: How did Belvoir come to cast you as Feste?

Keith Robinson: I’m not entirely sure – that’s probably best answered by them – but I imagine it’s probably along the lines of me having a historical connection with the company, having performed for Belvoir from time to time from the late ’80s to the ’00s, and Feste being a role that I might have been considered for back then, and somebody having the brilliant idea to “give Keith Robinson a call”! However it came about, I absolutely take my hat off to Belvoir for even considering casting mobility/ability-blind, as it were. To my knowledge – please correct me if I’m wrong – this is a first for one of the mainstage companies.

KH: What adjustments had to be made for you, as a wheelchair user?

KR: Well, they already had this massive, multistorey piece of inclinator kit sitting there bone idle, and that is certainly getting a workout. Camilla Ah Kin, wearing her Equity hat, was wonderful and met with the company beforehand to check the lie of the land and sort out any building-access issues. She also discussed scheduling with them. The fatigue factor kicks in a lot quicker than it used to... The company, as you would expect, have been fantastic. I mean, why cast like this without bending over backwards to try and make it work? So, we're all flying blind to an extent, but there is a beautiful, collegiate willingness to adjust and calibrate as we go.

KH: How long since you’ve been on stage?

KR: 10 years. The last play I did was Steve Martin’s The Underpants for Belvoir, which we then toured back in 2004-5. I contracted a variant of Guillain-Barré Syndrome in January 2006 and have been in a wheelchair ever since. Aaaarrrgh!

KH: Why did you decide to accept this role?

KR: Initially, when I got the call from the incomparable Sue Barnett, I thought she was ringing to go for coffee or some-such, but she said, “No, no, I’m ringing as your agent”. All those neurons and synapses sparked back into life, and I jumped at it. Are you kidding me? I’m an actor – or was – and for better or worse my identity had been almost entirely wrapped up in being one. As the days and weeks passed, and I read and re-read the play, the hard reality of my physical and technical limitations began to weigh more heavily. Quite apart from not being on my feet, I have no diaphragm or abdominals in any sort of working order, so can no longer sing, blah blah, etc etc. I told Eamon [Flack, the director] that I was having major second thoughts about my ability or capacity to perform the role. We met again and my negatives were batted away by him saying, “We'll deal with it”. Gorgeous man! So, why did I accept the role? I love the play, I wanted to be in a rehearsal room with Eamon and I miss my tribe.

KH: What are the differences between this rehearsal process and those you were involved in as an able-bodied actor?

KR: The main one, so far, is that my sense of spatial awareness on the stage is very different and not coming to me easily. I’m trying to find it anew. We shall see.

KH: Has the casting of a disabled actor as Feste added new dimension to the play?

KR: I might leave that for others to comment on. You’d hope so, wouldn’t you? But then again, we’re only a fortnight into rehearsals as we do this interview – still plenty of time for it to end up a great big hot mess of a puddle on the floor.

KH: What do you bring to the role?

KR: A bit of this and a bit of that. I’m still trying to figure that out because it’s not just a case of ‘the old me in a wheelchair’. It’s a new ‘thing’ and I’m not quite sure what that is yet.

KH: How do you see your future in the performing arts in Australia?

KR: I’m not sure that I do. But it would be nice, wouldn’t it? I’m certainly up for it. Probably requires a few others to re-jig the way they see things. We’re getting there, though. Bravo, Belvoir!

This article was originally published in the Winter 2016 issue of The Equity Magazine. 

Kate Hood had a career as an able-bodied actor for more than 20 years, performing across theatre, TV and film. She was diagnosed with HSP (hereditary spastic paraplegia) a decade ago and became a wheelchair user, which effectively ended her mainstream career. As a disabled actor, she writes and performs her own work, and works extensively as a voiceover artist, winning awards for her audio-book narrations for Bolinda Publishing. Kate Hood is deputy chair of Equity’s Diversity Committee.

A NIDA graduate, Keith Robinson has appeared for Belvoir in The Underpants, The Marriage of Figaro, Little Cherry Orchard, The Alchemist, Night on Bald Mountain, The Blind Giant is Dancing, The Tempest, Hamlet (including a national tour) and Picasso at the Lapin Agile. His television credits include All Saints, Murder Call and GP. He has appeared in the films The Night We Called It A Day, The Honourable Wally Norman, Moulin Rouge!, Daydream Believer, Lucinda, and Restraint. Watch a profile of Keith on ABC’s 7.30 program.