It’s a rare treat to see John Waters in his signature piece ‘Looking Through a Glass Onion,’ even more so because come October, John will be taking the production to an open ended season at the Union Square Theatre in New York. This has been given with the approval of the Yoko Ono Estate.
I spoke to John recently and he recounted his happy memories of being on the road touring Tassie, both Hobart and Launceston. In fact he tells me Tassie, after Melbourne, was the place Glass Onion had its first big show at the Theatre Royal.
John originally came to Australia on a working holiday as part of a English rock band ‘Riot’ and went on to stay the 40 years he now clocks up. He says the initial aim was to stay 2 years and get a passport, in fact he says he was an early example of a backpacker.
It happened that John got entangled in a little production called ‘Hair’ followed by acquiring an agent and contacts in Australia and even though he did return to England he then settled in Australia for good. John still returns to England, every two years to stay in touch with family but he sees Australia as the perfect place to raise his young family.
With all his work on film, TV and stage that John has taken part in I ask is he the triple threat?. He jokingly says to me ‘only if you can consider the tango’ he did in the stage production of the Addams family as reputable dancing!
‘Looking Through a Glass Onion’ is not a glossed over portrait of John Lennon nor a ‘hagiography’ but ‘a hard hitting warts and all’ depiction of Lennon’s life. The title takes its name from a line of The Beatles from the White Album, so called because the album cover was completely blank apart from the Beatles names emblazoned upon it.
John tells me the production’ leaves the audience ‘moved and endeared’ by the man and his story. The production is hard to describe as it is neither a concert nor a play.
John says John Lennon was ‘a brilliant writer ‘and ‘creative genius’ ‘a person of extreme intelligence’, with ‘an openness and personal honesty’, remembering, he also had ‘a tortured childhood of abandonment’.
I ask John what has been his favourite role and he says he can’t choose but he believes this show is his signature one.
You can see John in his last Australian appearances for some time in ‘Looking through a Glass onion’ at Wrest Point Casino on Friday September 12 and Launceston Country Club on Saturday, September 13.
Paula Xiberras
