Spotlight: Come meet John…

Who is John? This question was bobbing through my mind as I sat down to chat to Jeremeo Le Cordeur (Director) and Lizanne Peters (Actress) about the exciting new two-hander John, who is the brain child of actor André Lombard.

André brought the structure, plot and characters to life and then work shopped John with Jeremeo and Lizanne to put the final touches in place for this very edgy, new theatre piece. Although the play runs under an hour, just listening to the excited talk around its creation, I am sure there will be enough intrigue to make it a great experience.

In a nutshell, the play explores the sex worker industry, seen from the perspective of John (played by André), who meets three different sex workers (all played by Lizanne) in search of a lost love. He is in essence a man who craves connection and through his eyes the audience will be challenged to try and understand the world of the sex worker industry that functions on the periphery of our society. That which we so easily turn a blind eye to, because acknowledging it and the reasons people get trapped in or seek escapism there does not sit comfortably with us.

Getting a glimpse into the story that is set to unfold at the Theatre Arts Admin Collective this week, I got the feeling that this is a pretty woman story without the pretty. It is all about presenting a real glimpse to the audience throughout the play as the journey of the socially awkward John is slowly revealed.

To truly get this play, you will have to walk in with an open mind and be willing to colour in between the lines with the help of your own imagination. As Jeremeo explains, “Everyone will walk away with a different opinion”. Your experience will be determined by the character that pulls on your heart strings.

Even though you will be called on to fill in some blanks of John’s life (as it is presented in snippets) with your own imagination, the illusion of the industry will also be there, so the play does have a 15 age restriction.

This new piece promises to be thought provoking, peculiar, odd and weird … everything that the every man’s John is.

John, presented by Vulture Productions will be showing at the Theatre Arts Admin Collective from 3 to 9 November 2014. Tickets range from R50 – R60 and the play has an age restriction of PG15 (contains references to sex and nudity).

Spotlight by Barbara Loots