Geoffrey Rush refutes allegations of 'inappropriate behaviour' during Sydney Theatre Company's production

Geoffrey Rush, renowned Australian actor, has denied allegations of ‘inappropriate behaviour’ against him during the Sydney Theatre Company’s (STC) production titled King Lear,  reports Variety. [caption id=“attachment_4234857” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Geoffrey Rush. Image via Facebook[/caption] On Wednesday, a report by the Australian edition of the Daily Telegraph (which has now been removed from public domain) carried a statement issued by the STC. It said that the theatre company  had “received a complaint alleging that Mr Geoffrey Rush had engaged in inappropriate behaviour,” and further added, “The Company received the complaint when Mr Rush’s engagement with the Company had ended. The Company continues to work with the complainant to minimise the risk of future instances of the alleged behaviour occurring in its workplace,” as quoted by Variety. Following this, Rush issued a statement denying any such incident. His statement reads, “Mr Rush has not been approached by the Sydney Theatre Company and the alleged complainant nor any representative of either of them concerning the matter you have raised. In other words, there has been no provision of any details, circumstances, allegations or events that can be meaningfully responded to. It is a great disappointment to Mr. Rush the STC has chosen to smear his name and unjustifiably damage his reputation in this way. Not to afford a person their right to know what has been alleged against them let alone not inform them of it but release such information to the public is both a denial of natural justice and is not how our society operates,” as reported by Variety. The same report states that the Sydney Theatre Company has not provided any further details regarding the alleged incident as the complainant demands anonymity. When Rush himself tried to speak to the STC’s senior management, even he was refused of any information regarding the same. Speaking to Deadline, the actor says, “I asked why the information was being withheld, and why, according to standard theatre practice, the issue had not been raised with me during the production via stage management, the director, my fellow actors or anyone at management level. However, no response was forthcoming.” Geoffrey Rush is one of the most acclaimed actors across the globe having won the ‘Triple Crown of Acting’ which comprise The Academy Award, the Emmy Award and the Tony Award. He is also among the few actors who won all the major film awards — Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Critics’ Choice Movie Award to name a few — for his riveting performance in the 1996 film Shine.