John Cameron Mitchell Will Tour Australia With THE ORIGIN OF LOVE: THE SONGS AND STORIES OF HEDWIG

Tony Award-winning actor, director and writer John Cameron Mitchell will tour Australia for the first time with his new show The Origin of Love: The Songs and Stories of Hedwig, dropping in to Queensland Performing Arts Centre's (QPAC) Concert Hall on Tuesday 17 July 2018.

For one intimate night of post-punk neo-glam rock at QPAC, The Origin of Love: The Songs and Stories of Hedwig will see the co-creator of Hedwig perform every song from its soundtrack and tell tales from the ground-breaking musical's 20-year history.

Conceived and created by Mitchell and songwriter Stephen Trask, Hedwig and the Angry Inch started out as a drag character at the notorious New York City club Squeezebox. From there, Hedwig gradually evolved into a full-fledged workshop production in 1997 and a year later it became an off-Broadway hit, playing in cities worldwide to rave reviews and amassing a cult following.

The rock musical follows a fictional band fronted by Hedwig, an East German trans singer who survives a botched gender reassignment operation, and is drenched in the spirit of punk pioneers like Iggy Pop and Lou Reed and the androgynous style of David Bowie.

In 2001, Mitchell co-wrote, directed and starred in the big-screen adaptation winning Best Director at Sundance Film Festival and a nomination for a Golden Globe® as Best Actor. Thirteen years later, he briefly reprised the role of his beloved Hedwig on Broadway, earning himself a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and a Special Tony Award for his performance.

Producer David M Hawkins said as a multi-award winning writer, actor and director, John Cameron Mitchell was one of the great artists of our generation.

"I first saw him on Broadway as Dickon in The Secret Garden in the early 90s and next in his Tony-winning rock star turn in Hedwig and the Angry Inch," Mr Hawkins said.

"We have talked since 2008 about a concert tour to Australia and at last the stars have aligned. We intend to bring a decent hit of the Greenwich Village vibe to Oz."

On his debut Australian tour, Mitchell said "At last! My journey to Oz, long-deferred by silly obstacles like schedules and air fares, is a reality! I shall strap on a Cubist corsette and chromium wig, regale you with haphazard stories from 55 years of fake rock stardom and wail your favourite Hedwig songs like the Valkyrie within."

Mitchell's impressive depth of other work includes directing the improv-based film Shortbus (2006) and 2010's Rabbit Hole starring Nicole Kidman who scored an Academy Award® nomination for her role. He has more recently played recurring roles in HBO's Girls, Martin Scorsese's HBO series Vinyl, The Good Fight and the current season ofMozart in the Jungle.

This year will see the release of his film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's punk-era How to Talk to Girls at Parties starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman.

Tickets are on sale via qpac.com.au or 136 246.

The Origin of Love will also tour to Festival Theatre as part of Adelaide Cabaret Festival (Friday 22 June), Sydney Opera House (Friday 6 July) and Arts Centre Melbourne (Tuesday 10 July).

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