If stars were to be graded on octane alone, Mandy Patinkin’s pre-eminent place in the firmament would be assured. Anyone who has experienced the American singing actor’s live shows can attest to his unique blend of hypnotic storytelling, spurred on by a magnetic stage presence and healthy dollop of unpredictability. His idiosyncratic tenor is instantly recognisable, his face too, thanks to his memorable turn as Inigo Montoya in the 1987 film The Princess Bride and TV shows such as Chicago Hope (for which he won an Emmy in 1995) and, most recently, his star turn as CIA agent Saul Berenson in the Showtime series Homeland.

Mandy Patinkin. Photo supplied

His stage work has earned him a Tony for playing Che in the original Broadway cast of Evita, and subsequent nominations for his extraordinary turn as Georges Seurat in Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George and as the psychopathic clown Burrs alongside Toni Collette in Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party.

Now 65, he’s been touring since 1989 in a series of solo shows that have included Dress Casual, Celebrating Sondheim and Mamaloshen, the latter of which Patinkin performs entirely...