A lot of David Bowie’s songs have a dystopian edge to them, and theatre director John Cameron Mitchell says the 1997 track I’m Afraid of Americans from the album Earthlings resonates perfectly in these times.
Johnny wants a brain, Johnny wants to suck on a coke, Johnny wants a woman, Johnny wants to think of a joke. (Lyrics from I’m Afraid of Americans)
“It’s not anti-Trumpism, it’s acknowledging the fears that are coming up right now of racism, of collapse, of lack of empathy, and the song I’m Afraid of Americans points to how everyone is feeling right now because it affects everyone, inside and outside of America,” John Cameron Mitchell said.
On the eve of the 2025 election Cameron Mitchell, creator of the stage-play and film of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which Bowie invested in, had a theatre space near the old World Trade Centre site, and needed a show.
“The first show came right after the election and it was a new theatre and we wanted to do something new, hence I’m Afraid of Americans,” Cameron Mitchell said.
“I created a show that uses some of his most apocalyptic songs and it is a kind of catharsis to this era by taking some of his songs like Station to Station, Sweet Thing and Big Brother, very paranoid songs about fascism. It’s a tribute to Bowie, but also about his way of looking at the world.”
The shows have been a work in progress since the first production. “We only did this show twice there, and only five times since the election, and it is always changing.”
Both Sydney and Melbourne can expect a crack band under the direction of long time Blondie keyboardist Matthew Katz-Bohen, with vocals from occasional Scissor Sister and long-time Cameron Mitchell collaborator Amber Martin, plus rising Australian artist Jude York.
International cabaret star Meow Meow is scheduled for Sydney only, and she is expected to contribute Rock and Roll Suicide, a song she has done for previous Cameron Mitchell productions.
“Its not a super set kind of show where you have this incredible physical design, it’s about the songs and the beats,” Cameron Mitchell said.
Costumes by acclaimed New York textile and wearable sculpture artist Erik Bergrin, and lighting design from Jo Jo Franjoine, guarantee that I’m Afraid of Americans nether less have a cutting-edge look.
“There are also songs that Bowie liked such as Heroes, like Conversation Piece, even Quicksand, which is pretty dark but has a strange calming effect,” Cameron Mitchell said. “We are also doing songs that you would know like Fame, and Under Pressure, maybe.”
While I’m Afraid of Americans is not a show for the faint hearted, neither are the times in which we live, and this may just be the perfect way to confront that.
“By going through the darkness, it does not feel hopeless, it feels communal,” Cameron Mitchell said. “It’s like we are mourning the things that you care about, but in that you are learning to deal with it.”
“That is ours and Bowie’s trademark.”
I’M AFRAID OF AMERICANS – A Bowie Song Cycle will play at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on Sunday 6 September and the Melbourne Recital Centre on Wednesday 9 September 2026. For more information, visit: www.dmhentertainment.com for details.
Words: John Moyle
Images: John Cameron Mitchell – photo by Matthew Placek | John Cameron Mitchell (supplied)