John Cameron Mitchell to Headline David Bowie Song Cycle in Australia

Two-time Tony Award-winning star John Cameron Mitchell, currently starring in Broadway's Oh, Mary! will return to Australia later this year with a new theatrical concert celebrating the songs of David Bowie. 

I’M AFRAID OF AMERICANS – A Bowie Song Cycle will play at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Sunday, 6 September and the Melbourne Recital Centre on Wednesday, 9 September. Mitchell will also make an appearance at Sydney’s Festival of Dangerous Ideas in August with a further special event appearance to be announced in the coming weeks.

Venue, artist, ticket outlet and DMH Entertainment database members can secure tickets first during the exclusive pre-sale from 2.00pm Wednesday 25 March, until 11.59pm on Thursday, 26 March (local times).

General Public tickets for I’M AFRAID OF AMERICANS – A Bowie Song Cycle go on sale at 11.00am AEDT on Friday, 27 March.  Go to DMH Entertainment for further details and database registration.

The show is an evening conceived and performed by the creator and star of the cult musical phenomenon Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Blending Bowie’s most provocative, paranoid and visionary songs with personal stories, Mitchell constructs a theatrical journey through the mind of one of the greatest artists of the modern era.

The curated song cycle features Bowie classics and deep cuts, from Station to Station, Queen Bitch, and Sweet Thing to Hallo Spaceboy, Fame, Quicksand, and Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide. Mitchell will be joined by an ensemble of performers including Australian rising star Jude York, powerhouse vocalist Amber Martin (Scissor Sisters) and international cabaret icon Meow Meow (Sydney only).

The production features musical direction by Matthew Katz-Bohen (Blondie), costumes by designer Erik Bergrin, and lighting design by Jojo Franjoine.

Mitchell shares a personal connection with Bowie, who was an early champion and investor of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Reflecting on the inspiration behind the show, Mitchell says, “When fascism popped its head back out of the spider hole after our 2024 election, I was reminded of Gary Oldman's quote: ‘It all went to shit when David Bowie died. It was like he was some cosmic glue holding it all together’.

“So I binge-listened to Bowie’s most paranoid and apocalyptic songs and found myself strangely comforted. I constructed a song cycle of those songs — some hits, some deep cuts — and balanced them with his ballads of hard-won hope and stories of my meeting the man himself. With my longtime producers David M. Hawkins and Tommy Kriegsmann, a brilliant band led by Matthew Katz-Bohen, and backed by legendary vocal powerhouse Amber Martin alongside special Aussie guests like Jude York and Meow Meow, we are coming Down Under to remind ourselves that, under pressure from hate, we can be heroes … if just for one night.”

In addition, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI) will be exclusively presenting JUST BE PUNK with John Cameron Mitchell. In this masterclass, Mitchell invites audiences to ditch the performance of rebellion and step into the real thing. A call for a new generation, and those that may have forgotten, to “stop playing it safe”, he sees punk as action: messy, collective and defiantly alive. Subscribe for ticketing updates to JUST BE PUNK with John Cameron Mitchell here.