By MICHELLE HERBISON
DELVING into the song lyrics of Beatles legend John Lennon helped Australian stage star John Waters represent the man and his life in a unique performance.
Looking Through a Glass Onion returns to Geelong more than two decades after its first show, profiling the music, the politics and the whirlwind of Lennon’s life – creating a worldwide social phenomenon and upheaval of a generation in “seven years of madness”.
“The opening line in the song Glass Onion, ‘I told you about Strawberry Fields, you know the place where nothing is real’ refers to this crazy, mad world and everything else that came with fame which was so far beyond what they had thought,” Waters explained.
“When you look at the lyrics particularly from John Lennon, they do tell a story.”
Waters’ varied career on stage and in film and television has given him the perfect pedigree to perform the show, which he described as a “theatrical collage”, following a “loose chronology” of Lennon’s life and career through songs and stories.
“I channel him with a monologue which sounds as if he’s answering questions to a journalist on what it was like being a Beatle and how it all fell apart.”
Despite identifying as “not really a fan of anything”, Waters had always been fascinated by Lennon beyond the music, he said.
“I remember the incidents. I wrote it myself based on what I knew were the reported thoughts of John Lennon so it’s my interpretation.”
The show helped artistically explain to younger generations the “ludicrous” social revolution that the Beatles created.
“This was not just a band that sold a lot of records – it affected everybody’s lives. There were articles about them for five solid years every day.
“The Beatles spoke politically; they were witty, funny, intelligent and working class. The situation in Britain owes them debt for waking people up from the social divide.”
New York had finally beckoned the show for next year, Waters proud of achieving his ultimate ambition to perform off Broadway in what became Lennon’s hometown.
Looking Through a Glass Onion opens at GPAC on Sunday 16 February.
