He has played some of William Shakespeare’s greatest roles, but it wasn’t until last year that the world got to see Rob Pensalfini’s bottom. Let me rephrase that … his Bottom. We’re talking about the character from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, of course.
Pensalfini, who is artistic director and co-founder of the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, has made it his mission to use The Bard’s work to develop actors and inspire and connect community from schools to prisons.
And along the way he has trodden the boards quite a lot, with his last mainstage performance in QSE and Pip Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2025.
“And that’s when the world got to see my Bottom,” he says, enjoying the joke.
We’re chatting as Pensalfini prepares to celebrate 25 years of helming QSE. That’s 25 years of entertaining audiences with the plays and poetry of William Shakespeare, along with the works of contemporary and local writers.
“Because we have Shakespeare in our name people think that’s all we do,” Pensalfini says. “But even the Royal Shakespeare Company doesn’t just do Shakespeare. We do other work and we work with communities to help them tell their stories.”
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The QSE website states that “performing Shakespeare demands the cultivation of the whole self in the service of the communal enterprise, and as such is the ideal vehicle for this exploration”.
The ensemble is the University of Queensland’s resident theatre company. Its 25th anniversary celebrations will culminate with a family fair at UQ’s Avalon Theatre on July 25, followed by an evening gala.
Pensalfini has been with the company since its inception in 2001 and says it had been wonderful to watch QSE innovate and grow alongside the audiences who came to see the ensemble members play.
“It’s humbling to look back on 25 years of bringing Shakespeare to Queensland audiences in so many innovative forms,” he says. “Now we get to bring all the fun of a Shakespearian festival to our community and celebrate in our home theatre at The Avalon.
“Our ensemble is a rare example of two things – an ongoing theatre ensemble and a professional community theatre. We want to throw the doors open and welcome everyone who wants to be a part of our community to come and learn more about what we do.”
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Bringing Shakespeare to modern audiences and communities has been a joy for Pensalfini, who admits he resisted Shakespeare as a schoolboy in Perth.
“I hated Shakespeare when I was young,” he confesses. “At school it was something you suffered through.”
Ironically, it was when he was living in the US that he changed his mind. Unfettered by the baggage of “having to be British”, The Bard’s works seemed exciting and new, especially when performed.
“On the page, consumed by the eyeballs, it can seem dull,” he says. “But Shakespeare is a lot of fun. Which is why so many young actors still want to play with Shakespeare.”
QSE’s 25th anniversary celebrations will include a day of community activities, free workshops, pop-up performances and behind-the-scenes fun with food trucks and wandering minstrels.
The day will end with a ticketed evening performance of the All the World’s a Stage Gala at the Avalon Theatre from 6.30pm, highlighting the magic, merriment and mayhem of performing Shakespeare in Brisbane for the past quarter of a century. Expect 90 minutes of music and iconic moments with current and returning artists, complimentary nibbles and an atmosphere buzzing with birthday cheer.
And in November the QSE will reprise As You Like It, which was the first play the ensemble staged. And that will bring Pensalfini and the ensemble full circle in the most appropriate fashion.
Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble 25th Birthday Fair and Gala, Avalon Theatre, 172 Sir Fred Schonell Drive, St Lucia, July 25, 10am–4pm. Free entry to fair; $40 for the evening gala.
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