Looking Through A Glass Onion

Looking Through A Glass Onion
John Waters with Stewart D’Arietta. Chapel Off Chapel. May 2nd – May 6th, 2012. Sydney – Various venues from May 11th. Other States late May.

They come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Some are in their teens and even their parents weren’t born when The Beatles broke up. Others are in their twilight years, baby boomers just like John Lennon himself, who would have been 72 this year. They fill the comfortable lounge and coffee bar area of Chapel Off Chapel and stand three deep at the bar sipping champagne or dipping their biscuits into flat whites. There’s a buzz, an excitement – like that of any other opening night. For this is no tribute show at the local RSL.

There are two good reasons for acknowledging Glass Onion as a genuine piece of theatre. One is the iconic status of John Lennon himself:- a prodigious talent elevated to the halls of genius by his martyrdom. It’s hard to believe he has been dead for more than 30 years. The second reason, and perhaps more important, is the status of John Waters as one of our most sought after and awarded actors in film and television, as well as a respected member of the musical theatre fraternity ( I’ll never forget him in They’re Playing Our Song, or Godspell) and the music industry in general. Waters is an all round performer who plies his craft superbly, so it’s not surprising that the scouse accent is perfect and that the attitude of Lennon rises to the surface with every line. Like Lennon, Waters has charisma and understands its power.

John Waters and Stewart D’Arietta first performed the show at The Tilbury Hotel just on twenty years ago now. Over the years it grew to be something bigger and more theatrical, with a full band on huge stages. Now it returns to its roots and original intimacy – with just Waters and D’Arietta accompanied by pure talent. Stripped bare, the show has lost none of its edge or its freshness, despite its age. It’s Up Close and VERY personal. This may be our last chance to see Glass Onion in any form, since it makes its way to Broadway next year.

Waters singing is masterful, but this is an insight into what made Lennon tick as much as it is an homage, and it’s the monologues; the musings, the connection that Waters has with his audience that makes this so special. The writing is masterful, balancing the humour, anger, disdain and poignancy that were all part of Lennon’s make-up. D’Arietta’s accompaniment and vignettes  are just as breathtaking and when the two sing in harmony there’s a seamlessness about the vocal meld which is as poignant as it is perfect. Equally astonishing is the energy and electricity created by the two performers. True, it’s Lennon’s life and music we connect with, but it’s Waters and D’Arietta who transport us to a time that perhaps never existed for most of us. For those of us who were “there” for The Beatles era, this is an emotional journey. For those of us too young to know, Waters shows us how to Imagine…. And that’s a gift.

Coral Drouyn

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