Inside John Clarke’s moving documentary

When Lorin first asked her father, John Clarkeif she could record their conversations, she assumed the audio would be somewhat private.

At that time, she had already set up a podcast studio at home, and her father, the famous satirist John Clarke, had a life of stories to share.

Those recordings started just a year before his death at 68.

After he died, Lorin realized that the conversations held more than personal memories—they captured something that his audience had also lost.

“I feel like his audience … he had such a connection there,” Lorin says.

“It was so multi-layered, and the audience felt it was short … I wanted to say, well, it meant something to him, too.”

That realization became the basis for But also John Clarkea documentary built from the recorded conversations, archival images of John Clarke's career, and reflections of his colleagues.

What does this documentary reveal about John Clarke?

But also John Clarkea feature-length documentary made and narrated by his daughter, sets out to look beyond the public persona.

The film traces his life from a troubled childhood to the creative freedom of his university years, following his path from early comic experiments to becoming Australia's best-loved satirical mischief-maker.

Although Clarke was famously private, the film gently opens a window into the personal experiences that shaped him.

Together, Lorin and her father explore how those early influences helped him channel silliness and wit into an everyone's voice exposing political, economic and social nonsense.

How does the film bring its world to life?

The documentary is a fun 99-minute journey, rich with home movies, Clarke was a constant recorder of family life, in addition to archival television and stage performances.

Interviews with friends, collaborators and admirers deepen the portrait, including Sam Neill, Ben Elton, Bryan Dawe, Anne Edmonds, Jana Wendt, Paul Keating and Wendy Harmer.

Why are the recorded conversations so central?

At the heart of the film are the audio interviews that Lorin recorded with her father in the years before his unexpected death in 2017.

In these conversations, Clarke reflects candidly on his upbringing in Palmerston North, New Zealand, where a difficult home life and rigid school environment fostered a lifelong suspicion of authority.

Those early years also fueled his attraction to humor and honesty.

“I see two sides to things,” Clarke tells Lorin, a trait he attributes to growing up with parents who “couldn't get along”.

What did Lorin learn from recording her father?

Even Lorin, who believed she already knew most of her father's stories, discovered new layers when they sat together. One of them was the tragic love story of her grandmother Neva.

After losing her first love, George, Neva later fell for a Scotsman named Jock while working as a secretary for the New Zealand Army during World War II.

When the war ended, Jock planned to move to New Zealand to be with her, but never arrived.

“The fact that the war was over and someone hadn't told me that detail was insane,” Lorin says.

John Clarke shared his mother's story during their recorded sessions: “It was amazing to have the detail of that.”

What shines through in this documentary?

Throughout the film, John's cheerful nature is always present.

While Lorin Clarke celebrates a comic genius who adored words and rhythm, she also reveals a generous, unpretentious man who took a genuine interest in everyone he met, often chatting at length with strangers.

As Bryan Dawe tells Lorin during the film, “Your father always said from the beginning, 'We're here on behalf of the public.'

Where can you watch the documentary?

But also John Clarke premiering on Thursday 1 January at 19:30 ABC and flows through ABC insight.

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