“Intimidating”: Eryn Jean Norville testifies in Rush defamation case
King Lear actress at the centre of profile lawsuit says she respected Geoffrey Rush but behaviour in the rehearsal room became "normalised."
- Published by David Knox
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Actress Eryn Jean Norvill, who played King Lear‘s daughter opposite Geoffrey Rush in the Sydney Theatre Company production, took the stand in the Federal Court in Sydney this morning.
Before her evidence began, Nationwide News lawyer Tom Blackburn SC sought to make an eleventh-hour amendment to the newspaper’s defence.
Bruce McClintock SC, acting for Rush, quickly protested the brief mention of the application and declared he would apply to close the court if Blackburn continued to raise it. McClintock said his side received 85 pages of material on Sunday evening and was not in a position to deal with it today.
“This matter has nothing to do with the witnesses that are slated to give evidence,” he said.
Justice Wigney deferred the application until tomorrow so Blackburn could begin his opening remarks.
In testimony Norville said she looked up to Rush when she was studying at the Victorian College of the Arts and in 2008 Rush discussed acting as a reference for her to work in the US.
“I felt overwhelmed and flattered, and excited,” she said.
“I guess I hoped that he would want to have a more close working professional relationship with me.”
In rehearsals one day for the King Lear corpse scene, she said she had her eyes closed and she heard “hisses of laughter.”
“I opened my eyes and Geoffrey was kneeling over me and had both of his hands above my torso and he was gesturing stroking up and down my torso gesturing, groping and cupping of my breast,” she said.
“He was raising his eyebrows, bulging his eyes and licking his lips.
“I heard Neil (Armfield, director) say, ‘Geoffrey stop that’…he was presiding and he sounded angry.”
Norvill said she felt “shocked”.
“I guess I was confused. I consider Geoffrey a friend. I felt belittled, embarrassed and I guess shamed.”
She told Blackburn it happened regularly and not just to her, commenting on other female cast and crew.
“It was regular and became normalised in our rehearsal room,” she said.
He would also “whisper in my ear, a lot”.
She said she found his power “intimidating”.
She also recalled meeting Rush at closing-night drinks of another STC production in 2015 where he allegedly whispered in her ear.
“I’d never felt him stand so close before,” she told the court.
“I remember feeling a little claustrophobic and I remember thinking I just needed to get some space.”
The case continues.
Source: ABC, Australian Financial Review