Quentin Crisp, who calls himself ”one of the stately homos of England,” is in Chicago to present his one-man show at the Halsted Theatre Centre Wednesday through Sunday. Crisp is eightysomething. He`s a delicate little man with wispy lavender-tipped hair. He doesn`t do anything. He just is.
Q-What are you going to do in your one-man show?
A-I have no idea. I hope the organizers will tell me what to say and then I`ll try to say it. There is never any script. I`m quite likely to say to the audience, ”What should we talk about now?”
Q-And if you do, what do you think they`ll answer?
A-They sometimes want to know about my past life. They want to know why I left England. They want to know why I live in America. And they want to know why my telephone number is in the directory.
Q-What do you tell them about your past life?
A-That it`s in a book called ”The Naked Civil Servant,” which only means I used to be a model in an art school. My life was very difficult when I was young. I`m difficult to employ, though I will do anything.
Q-Why did you leave England?
A-Because I could. I was invited by the late Mr. (Michael) Bennett to come to New York. He was the darling of the Shubert Theatre because he invented a show called ”A Chorus Line.” He wanted to make my life story into a musical. This I would have loved, but it never came to pass.
Q-Why do you live in America?
A-Because in America, everybody is your friend. When you walk along 2nd Avenue, you nearly always meet someone who will talk to you or have a cup of coffee with you.
Q-Do you feel American?
A-I`ve never learned the language.
Q-Why is your phone number listed in the directory?
A-So that people can telephone me.
Q-Do you get many calls from strangers?
A-I suppose I do. Shall we say an average of one a day?
Q-What do they want?
A-Sometimes they don`t know what they want. They ring up. When I answer they say, ”Oh! I never dreamed you`d answer yourself.” I say, ”What would you like to say?” They say, ”I don`t know.” They have to be coaxed into saying something.
Q-You`re in your 80s, still sharp, still active. What`s your secret?
A-The main thing is to never, ever work. I just sit around all day doing what Americans call hanging out.
Q-What form does your hanging out take?
A-I sit in a room all day. I answer the phone. I do crossword puzzles. I write letters. I open a tin of soup or fry an egg. I wash my socks. I file my nails. I do all the things that other people do on their day off. Except I do them every day.
Q-Do you think it`s easier being gay now than when you were young?
A-Yes, of course. My attitude is probably a bit glib. I live in big cities. My view of the world is an urban view. It`s much easier to be gay in a big city now than it was. But I`ve never lived in a village. Or even a tiny town.
Q-You`ve always been upfront about your homosexuality. What do you think about ”outing,” forcing gay public personalities out of the closet?
A-I think it`s a very bad idea. It`s not for us to say what other people should do.
Q-How did you new book, ”How to Go to the Movies” (St. Martin`s Press, $15.95), come about?
A-I had done movie reviews for a magazine called Christopher Street and then somebody said, ”Why don`t we collect them and pretend they`re a book?” And I wrote a preface and now it`s out here and in England, and to my amazement, it will be out in Australia any minute.
Q-You write that you like the old stars-Dietrich, Garbo, Davis. Don`t we have any stars today?
A-I think Miss (Bette) Midler is the nearest thing to a star.
Q-What about Elizabeth Taylor?
A-She`s a star, of course.
Q-Does matter if she`s fat or thin?
A-It doesn`t matter at all.
Q-Do you miss sex?
A-No, I don`t. Sex was never really important to me.
Q-Were you quite pretty when you were a boy?
A-I don`t know. Of course I went on as though I were, which is not quite the same thing.
Q-Do you think about death?
A-Yes. I`m ready now to die. I`ve done and been and said what I can, so as far as I`m concerned, I can die quite tidily at any minute.
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Tickets to ”The Return of Quentin Crisp” at The Halsted Theatre Centre, 2700 N. Halsted St., are $20 and $25. The box office number is 312-348-0110.
