LOOKING FOR JOHN
Looking For John was written and performed by Tony Timberlake and tells the story of his obsession with champion figure skater John Curry.
Looking For John is a powerful, heartfelt and comic story of one man’s obsession with a forgotten icon and his journey to get an overlooked hero celebrated once more in a revealing exploration of how and why we choose the heroes we do.
I worked as sound designer on this simple but effective piece of theatre that tells the fascinating and somewhat tragic story of champion figure skater John Curry. An incredible sportsman, winning Olympic Gold in 1976, and an artist who redefined men’s skating through his beautiful balletic routines, John Curry also had a complex personal life and sadly died very young aged just 44. Following an extraordinary amount of research Tony Timberlake tells John’s story interwoven with his own personal account of how his hero has shaped his life. The story is brought to life with minimal set, sound, brilliant lighting design, a wealth of images and video and Tony’s endearing portrayal of the many characters he encountered.
The sound design features archive footage of Curry’s routines, music that featured in his routines, some ambiences that give context to the scenes and the sounds of ice skating.
Following a campaign by director Tessa Walker and Tony the Birmingham Civic Society have agreed to install a well deserved Blue Plaque at John Curry’s family home in Acocks Green.
The show was produced by Birmingham Repertory Theatre in association with Homotopia and SHOUT festival. It ran at Unity Theatre, Liverpool 10-12 November 2016 and The Door, Birmingham REP 16-19 November 2016. In August 2017 Looking For John was presented at Assembly Baillie Room at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
LOOKING FOR JOHN
Looking For John was written and performed by Tony Timberlake and tells the story of his obsession with champion figure skater John Curry.
Looking For John is a powerful, heartfelt and comic story of one man’s obsession with a forgotten icon and his journey to get an overlooked hero celebrated once more in a revealing exploration of how and why we choose the heroes we do.
I worked as sound designer on this simple but effective piece of theatre that tells the fascinating and somewhat tragic story of champion figure skater John Curry. An incredible sportsman, winning Olympic Gold in 1976, and an artist who redefined men’s skating through his beautiful balletic routines, John Curry also had a complex personal life and sadly died very young aged just 44. Following an extraordinary amount of research Tony Timberlake tells John’s story interwoven with his own personal account of how his hero has shaped his life. The story is brought to life with minimal set, sound, brilliant lighting design, a wealth of images and video and Tony’s endearing portrayal of the many characters he encountered.
The sound design features archive footage of Curry’s routines, music that featured in his routines, some ambiences that give context to the scenes and the sounds of ice skating.
Following a campaign by director Tessa Walker and Tony the Birmingham Civic Society have agreed to install a well deserved Blue Plaque at John Curry’s family home in Acocks Green.
The show was produced by Birmingham Repertory Theatre in association with Homotopia and SHOUT festival. It ran at Unity Theatre, Liverpool 10-12 November 2016 and The Door, Birmingham REP 16-19 November 2016. In August 2017 Looking For John was presented at Assembly Baillie Room at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Writer & Performer: Tony Timberlake
Director: Tessa Walker
Sound Design: Iain Armstrong
Lighting Design: Simon Bond
Visuals Design: Louis Price
Photography: Graeme Braidwood
“Timberlake’s writing borders on the genius using a mixture of interviews and his own personal memories of John, he creates an interwoven story of their lives…”
* * * *
“Through emotional and sometimes painful accounts of recalling past events, Timberlake allows the audience to question between ‘right and wrong’ with accepting the queer community and how much acceptance has changed within the past three decades.”
* * * *
“The play may be small, but it is easefully about big things. The ephemeral nature of fame, the fleeting nature of life, the conflicts involved in being true to yourself. And conflicts involved in being gay.”
* * * *
“The projections of scenery, reference photos, and of Curry’s routine all meld with a carefully selected but unobtrusive soundscape, to help illustrate and embellish the narrative world Timberlake creates through his retellings.”
“Tony Timberlake has turned his lifelong fascination with the champion figure skater and 1970s gay icon into a heartbreaking one-man show.”
“This is fringe theatre at its finest. Timberlake’s script is as tight as a triple salchow; his performance warm and engaging, funny and self-deprecating, as he shifts effortlessly between narration and a conveyor belt of comical characters.”
* * * *
Writer & Performer: Tony Timberlake
Director: Tessa Walker
Sound Design: Iain Armstrong
Lighting Design: Simon Bond
Visuals Design: Louis Price
Photography: Graeme Braidwood
“Timberlake’s writing borders on the genius using a mixture of interviews and his own personal memories of John, he creates an interwoven story of their lives…”
* * * *
“Through emotional and sometimes painful accounts of recalling past events, Timberlake allows the audience to question between ‘right and wrong’ with accepting the queer community and how much acceptance has changed within the past three decades.”
* * * *
“The play may be small, but it is easefully about big things. The ephemeral nature of fame, the fleeting nature of life, the conflicts involved in being true to yourself. And conflicts involved in being gay.”
* * * *
“The projections of scenery, reference photos, and of Curry’s routine all meld with a carefully selected but unobtrusive soundscape, to help illustrate and embellish the narrative world Timberlake creates through his retellings.”
“Tony Timberlake has turned his lifelong fascination with the champion figure skater and 1970s gay icon into a heartbreaking one-man show.”
“This is fringe theatre at its finest. Timberlake’s script is as tight as a triple salchow; his performance warm and engaging, funny and self-deprecating, as he shifts effortlessly between narration and a conveyor belt of comical characters.”
* * * *
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