Overview
On March 9, (in)famous American filmmaker John Waters will make the Opera House his stage and allow Sydney audiences a glimpse into his witty, sometimes seedy, frequently outrageous take on popular culture. This Filthy World Vol. 2 is a one-man show covering a smorgasbord of topics including childhood memories, fashion lunacy, sexual deviancy, exploitation film and Catholicism.
The Sydney date comes on top of his already announced Adelaide Festival appearance on March 6 and his Melbourne stop on March 10.
Once christened 'The Pope of Trash' by William S. Burroughs, the Baltimore-native proves quite the raconteur. Reviewing his live show, the LA Times noted he "never seems to tire of wallowing in the dregs of pop culture, but his love of campy sex and tabloid mayhem is married with an intense appreciation for literature, history and high art".
Unfamiliar with Waters and his trademark pencil moustache? He became a cult figure in US indie cinema for his notoriously subversive, filth-embracing 1972 film Pink Flamingos. By the late '80s he entered slightly more commercial territory with Hairspray, later remade into the 2007 film starring the somewhat less subversive, filth-embracing Zac Efron (although, you never know).
Waters himself says, "It’s hard to offend three generations, but it looks like I’ve succeeded.” Want to join the offended hordes? Tickets go on sale on Monday, November 18, at 9am.
This Filthy World Vol. 2 is on at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Sunday, March 9, at 5pm.