Geoffrey Rush returns to his Queensland origins

Acting royalty, Geoffrey Rush, will return to his childhood stomping ground in Toowoomba today as part of the Australian of the Year Awards program’s 2012 Tour of Honour.

Tour of Honour is an initiative that gives communities an up close and personal opportunity to hear the inspiring stories of the award recipients.

The tour’s next stop is Empire Theatre where Australian of the Year, Mr Rush, will be joined by Young Australian of the Year Marita Cheng and Australia’s Local Hero Lynne Sawyers. The community function will showcase a Q&A session with the three recipients followed by a performance by the Empire Youth Arts students.

Widely regarded as Toowoomba’s greatest export, Mr Rush’s multiple award-winning acting career spans across 40 years.

He Became the 19th actor to win the triple crown of acting: A Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (“Exit the King”, 2009), to sit pretty with his Oscar for “Shine” (1997) and an Emmy for “Life and Death of Peter Sellers” (2004).

This trifecta being the finely-grated parmesan on top of his industry awards risotto; including three BAFTAs, two Golden Globes, four Screen Actors’ Guild Awards and induction into the club of acting elites, with a Helpmann Award last year.

But even with the perfect risotto overflowing his plate, Mr Rush still makes room to revisit where it all began and has been the patron of Empire Theatres Foundation since its inception in 2003.

Empire Theatre’s General Manager, Kerry Saul, says it will be a joy to have Mr Rush reunite with his acting roots.

“It is an honour to have Mr Rush as our patron of the Empire Theatres Foundation, and to now host him and his fellow Australian of the Year Awardees is certainly a highlight in the Theatre’s existing calendar,” says Mr Saul.

All members of the public are invited to participate in this momentous event at the Empire Theatre on Wednesday 8 August from 6pm to 7pm.

For more information, contact Empire Theatre on (07) 4698 9900.