John Cameron Mitchell
Talk Art
Russell Tovey and Robert Diament c/o Independent Talent
4.6 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 3 July 2025
⏱️ 72 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We meet John Cameron Mitchell, groundbreaking American actor, writer and director best known for creating, directing and starring in the Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), a film adaptation of the off-Broadway stage production he co-wrote with composer Stephen Trask. We discuss Claude Cahun, David Bowie and the power of art, ahead of his major live show this Tuesday 8th July at the Adelphi Theatre in London.
In 1998, he co-created Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a genre-defying rock musical about a genderqueer East German singer navigating identity, love, and fame. The show became an off-Broadway sensation, earning a cult following. In 2001, Mitchell directed and reprised his role as Hedwig in the film adaptation, which won the Best Director Award and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. The film’s success cemented his status as a visionary filmmaker.
Following Hedwig, Mitchell directed Shortbus (2006), a provocative indie film exploring sexuality and relationships through an ensemble cast. In 2010, he directed Rabbit Hole, starring Nicole Kidman, a deeply emotional drama about grief, which earned Kidman an Academy Award nomination.
Marking 25 years since the London premiere of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, theatrical icon John Cameron Mitchell presents a spectacular one-night-only celebration of his career and of the cult classic that rocked the foundations of music theatre forever. On Tuesday 8th July, the two time Tony Award-winning star of stage and screen will take to the West End stage for the very first time, joined by a host of incredible special guests including Boy George, Divina de Campo, Michael Cerveris, Nakhane, Martin Tomlinson and Mason Alexander Park.
Expect the unexpected – from the glittering glam that rocked him as a boy living in early 70’s Scotland, to gut-punching ballads spanning Off-Broadway, Broadway, Hollywood and beyond — as Mitchell opens his heart and history to the city that first embraced Hedwig a quarter-century ago.
Dress to Express as we celebrate the transformative power of music, love and radical self-expression. London, it’s been a long time coming, are we ready to ‘Pull that wig down off the shelf’?!
Visit: https://lwtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/john-cameron-mitchell/
Follow: @JohnCameronMitchell
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is sponsored by National Theatre at Home, unmissable theatre whenever you want it. |
| 0:06.0 | Now streaming on National Theatre at Home, Red follows the extraordinary journey of American Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko. |
| 0:15.0 | Under the watchful gaze of his young assistant and the threatening presence of a new generation of artists, |
| 0:20.0 | Mark Rothko takes on his greatest |
| 0:22.1 | challenge yet to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. Celebrating art in all its |
| 0:29.3 | forms, national theatre at home amplifies visual art, comedy, dance and more. And we're encouraging |
| 0:35.5 | everyone listening to explore their rich catalogue of play spotlighting |
| 0:39.5 | the arts. So examples that you can catch is Present Laughter by Noel Coward starring Andrew Scott. |
| 0:45.8 | Fleabag by Phoebe Wallerbridge. What else, Rob? |
| 0:48.5 | Michaela Cole starred in Chewing Gum Dreams and it's really worth checking out. |
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| 1:07.3 | Toolcart and National theatre at home. |
| 1:18.1 | Good afternoon. Good morning. Good evening. Whatever you are in the world. I am Russell Toby. And I'm Robert Diamant. And this is Talk Art. Welcome to Talk Art. How are you today, |
| 1:23.9 | Robert? Today, Russell, I am feeling glam, alienated and uncategorizable. |
| 1:31.5 | Basic. |
| 1:32.4 | Really basic. |
| 1:33.9 | They're all words that I associate with today's guest, who is, in my humble opinion, a living legend. |
| 1:40.9 | And he is glam, alienated and uncategorizable. |
| 1:44.9 | I can't say that word, uncategorizable. |
| 1:47.2 | That's how you say it. |
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