hair and rocky horror

You couldn't see the musical Hair in Queensland. The nudity was disallowed. 

I saw Hair at the age of fifteen with my parents. We travelled to Sydney to see it. Very exciting to go the theatre in the red light district of Kings Cross (think a sleazier Soho). It was disorienting to be there with my father. After seeing the film Easy Rider (where the freedom loving protagonists end getting their heads blown off by rednecks), his verdict was 'They deserved it.'

It was thrilling to see the songs I had memorised from the album. And wonderful to see the characters of Berger and Woof brought to life. Reg Livermoore had been on children's television and here he was playing Berger 'get-your-pants-off-Berger'. I heard my mother laugh beside me the way she had at the Theatre Royal. 

Then the Be-in scene where the case disappears under a huge parachute silk and then appear with the cloth rolled back all naked. I remember it as a shock. Ok, that's part of being one of the beautiful people, that's the freedom I'm on the side on if I like the music and the jeans and all. if I'd been aware of the concept of dramaturgy, I may have had more of an opinion. The film version cleverly created a plot for the musical. And character arcs. This was just a 'happening', whatever that was. We went to the stage door and I got the boy who played Woof to sign his picture, sigh. He was talking about how he wanted to build a replica of Thor Heyerdahl's Kontiki and take to the oceans. Why? I screamed inside...isn't being on stage in this dazzling city in this unique cultural event with all it's frisson not enough excitement? Well I didn't really think all this - my brain just kind of froze with incomprehension. And fear. And disappointment. 'I'm so timid, I will never be part of the really exciting parts of life.'

It was years later, when I was around 20 - how ridiculous is that that 20 is just 5 years older than 15. We went down to Sydney again to see Rocky Horror Picture Show. It may not have been  banned, it may have been a question of marketing, demographics and economics. I was with Sue Parker (at that time she was considering attending NIDA - we were accompanying her for her audition in fact). I guiltily now register not really acknowledging the enormity of this or supporting her adequately. It was like it was all on the side. I don't remember her speaking about it. I'd like to say more lack of appreciation of the stakes than callousness. Or my usual fear. I would never have had the courage to imagine myself living in another city, studying at a Drama school. And I was sure that Sue could have and do whatever she wanted. My vague memory is that she decided it wasn't for her - and with her multi-talentedness I was not surprised.