Hobart showbiz favourite John X clears out costumes

Stripper stilettos, vicar’s vestments, spacesuits and period military uniforms aren’t the usual things you would find in a man cave, but then John Xintavelonis’ man cave is hardly usual.

Performer John X is cleaning out his shed full of Theatre clothes and props and rather than selling he's giving it away to schools and groups. John's son Theo (7 months) is helping adjudicate. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

STRIPPER stilettos, vicar’s vestments, spacesuits and period military uniforms aren’t the usual things you would find in a man cave – but John Xintavelonis’s man cave is hardly usual.

In a decluttering mission like no other, Xintavelonis is working through costumes and props collected during his extensive stage career.

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The Tasmanian actor and theatre identity expects it will take months to sort out the items collected through his involvement in about 150 productions.

Xintavelonis said the shed was in need of a tidy up, so he could locate things when they were needed.

“I’m collating all the stuff, otherwise I’m going to need to build a bigger shed, which is ridiculous. It was also getting a bit hard for me to locate stuff,” Xintavelonis said. “My wife would say I hoard.”

Run-of-the-mill items will be donated to charity, but countless costumes and props will continue to be used in theatre productions.

Xintavelonis is renowned for his generosity with his unrivalled collection, regularly lending costumes and props to local schools and theatre groups.

“There’s a lot of crazy stuff there, such as the gold dress worn by (former ABC anchorman) Peter Gee in the Bawdy Panto,” he said.

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