KEY POINTS:
Resident Alien is a strangely conventional play given it's a tribute to the fedora-hatted, make-up-wearing, bejewelled "naked civil servant" himself - Quentin Crisp.
Written by British playwright and author Tim Fountain, Resident Alien is a traditional monologue in two acts, and in this production Crisp's extraordinary life is evoked with a naturalistic design aesthetic.
In the first act, Crisp is dressing for lunch with two admirers who want to record for their website his thoughts on love. Crisp, listed in the New York phone book, was famous for taking calls from fans from all walks of life and eating lunch with anyone who wanted to pay.
As he dresses, Crisp shares his witty and uncompromising thoughts on everything from love and death to celebrity and politics.
In the second act, we meet a more vulnerable Crisp, who has been stood up by his lunch companions and is making a modest lunch of fried egg and baked beans. Over this simple fare he shares more intimate thoughts on his life's philosophy of being true to himself.
Actor John Watson obviously has a great love and affection for Crisp and works hard to create a faithful tribute to his hero. It could have resulted in a camp facsimile of Crisp's personae but Watson, under Amanda Rees' direction, is not afraid to portray Crisp's clay feet.
So, in addition to his humour and strength, Watson reveals the vulnerability, cynicism and grumpiness that also made the man. It is an intelligent approach that makes for a funny and thought-provoking night out.
Crisp was famous for the squalid conditions he lived in and John Park and Frank Checketts' set design offers a faithful representation of what the New York bedsit must have looked like.
There are books, envelopes and used dishes everywhere and the floor is covered in dust, which Crisp never cleaned up, claiming it "didn't get any worse after the first four years" and before that it was just a matter of "holding your nerve".
Costume designer Kirsty Cameron also offers an instantly recognisable representation of the Quentin Crisp look from the fedora hat and neck scarf down to the shabby suit and shoes. And wig creator Annette Beaney is to be commended for her contribution to helping Watson transform himself.
Resident Alien is playing at TAPAC in Western Springs as part of the Hero Festival, which is apt as no doubt Crisp was a hero for many gay men. It would be a shame if this narrowed the audience for this production because in these days of bland celebrity it is not only a heartfelt tribute to an iconoclast but also a good reminder of the bravery needed to be a true individual.
As much as I hate the cod philosophising and new-age mumbo-jumbo of Sting's music, he got it right in English Man in New York, his tribute to Crisp, when he wrote, "It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile. Be yourself no matter what they say."
What: Resident Alien.
Where: TAPAC, Western Springs.
When: Until Saturday.
Reviewed by: Shannon Huse.
