Mink Stole & Peaches Christ Talk Drag, Waters & Retiring

“The oddest misconception about the early Dreamland years is that we actors actually lived like our characters. I have actually been asked (many, many years ago) if I still lived in the trailer!!!”

The speaker is Mink Stole, the undisputed reigning queen of underground American cinema, whose decades of scene-stealing work span Hairspray, Serial Mom, Cry-Baby, and Female Trouble. She is keen to set the record straight about her time in John Waters’ notorious Baltimore stable.

“A – Connie never lived in the trailer, Babs did; and B – we burned it down – on film!!!” she clarifies, dismantling the persistent mythology surrounding 1972’s Pink Flamingos. “The other big misconception is that we were doing drugs and partying on the set all the time. We never did that – we cared about what we were doing, and came to the set knowing our lines and ready to work.”

It’s this mix of profound artistic commitment and unapologetic deviance that sits at the core of Idol Worship. Billed as a fiercely personal and gloriously unfiltered cabaret, the two-woman show pairs Stole with San Francisco drag impresario, actor, and filmmaker Peaches Christ (All About Evil, The Diary of A Teenage Girl, The Roast of Peaches Christ). Having cultivated a creative partnership and friendship spanning 25 years, the duo are bringing the production to the UK for the first and, definitively, the last time.

“A – Connie never lived in the trailer, Babs did; and B – we burned it down – on film!!!” she clarifies, dismantling the persistent mythology surrounding 1972’s Pink Flamingos. “The other big misconception is that we were doing drugs and partying on the set all the time. We never did that – we cared about what we were doing, and came to the set knowing our lines and ready to work.”

Kicking off at London’s BFI Southbank on 10 April 2026 as the centrepiece of the venue’s ‘Trash!’ season, the tour sweeps through Manchester’s HOME, Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema, and the Irish Film Institute in Dublin before hitting Edinburgh’s Cameo Cinema on 16 April. By 21 April, following a final performance at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, Idol Worship will officially retire.

An Antidote to Franchise Era Drag

In an age where drag has been aggressively packaged, monetised, and polished for prime-time television consumption, a live retrospective of counterculture cinema feels less like entertainment and more like a course correction. Each stop on the tour will feature opening act performances by some of the UK’s finest alternative drag artists, rooting the international production firmly in local, unfiltered scenes. While Peaches Christ insists the show’s rebellious tone is entirely organic, she acknowledges its stark contrast to the modern franchise era.

“I’d say that in the last handful of years the show has taken on a different impact for people, and a big part of that is that it reminds some folks and introduces others to the idea that drag can be dangerous, provocative, and challenging in a way that television drag audiences just aren’t experiencing,” Peaches explains. “It wasn’t deliberate because we’re really just talking about our own drag experiences and collaborations together, but the fact that it’s had that effect is something I don’t mind at all.”

For the San Francisco native, who built a formidable career hosting her legendary Midnight Mass movie events, the greatest reward comes from shocking the uninitiated.

“My favorite thing is when younger drag performers who were raised on television drag see the show and seem genuinely surprised, shocked, and hopefully inspired,” she says.

The Architecture of Cult Congregations

The UK venues selected for this farewell run are not accidental. Rooms like the BFI Southbank and Edinburgh’s Cameo Cinema possess a rich, blood-and-guts history of independent and midnight programming. They are the physical anchors for the very subcultures Idol Worship celebrates.

“The way a venue supports the message of a show like this is crucial to how I book spaces,” Peaches notes. “I try to do a lot of research, and I reach out to underground film friends in each market to ask what place feels like the best fit, and then I hope we can make it work.”

It is a booking philosophy rooted in the early days of her career, when the local independent cinema was a haven for the beautifully bizarre.

“For me, Midnight Mass was originally a tongue-in-cheek title that fit with my Peaches Christ persona, but over the years I realized that these spaces were our churches,” she reflects. “They’re where we find fellowship with other weirdos, celebrate our icons, and share our values. Those values might include singing assholes, but the message of ‘don’t dream it, be it’ was always the real mantra.”

Directing an Idol: A 25-Year Evolution

The roots of Idol Worship stretch back a quarter of a century to the very first Midnight Mass tribute Peaches hosted for Stole. The original mission was simple: ensure a cinematic pioneer received the adoration she was long overdue.

“I think when we first met and I did that first show, it was a real shock to discover that it hadn’t really happened yet, so I kept doing it,” Peaches admits. “A big part of my motivation was making sure that this woman whose art had given me SO MUCH was able to truly receive her flowers. There’s a huge group of us whose lives were changed by discovering her films.”

What began as a superfan’s tribute eventually morphed into a balanced, two-woman show, though the transition required Peaches to navigate the immense psychological weight of directing her own hero.

“It’s strange because a long time ago, especially working with Mink and Cassandra Peterson aka ‘Elvira’, who are now both officially my drag mothers, I had to learn how to still be an obsessed fan and acknowledge my giddy inner child while also being a competent director, producer, and collaborator,” Peaches says. She had to present a confident vision, “even if I was secretly hiding some self-doubt and nervous energy. It was very much that ‘fake it till you make it’ thing at first. Eventually it got easier and the confidence became more authentic.”

For Stole, the show’s evolution reflects the deepening of their bond. The UK run was originally slated for 2020 but was brutally derailed.

“We had expected to bring the show to London six years ago, but Covid squelched that plan,” Stole says. “I was bitterly disappointed at the time, but of course soon realized that my disappointment was nothing compared with the horror of the pandemic. Since then we’ve changed the focus of the production from all about me to all about us, and it’s better.”

“Peaches and I have worked together and travelled together for about 25 years, and through this have become great friends,” she continues. “I admire her so much, and am so thankful to have been asked to be part of her amazing life and career. It only made sense that our show should reflect and celebrate that. So when she suggested taking Idol Worship back on the road a couple of years ago, I pushed for it. Peaches very modestly agreed!!!”

But why end it now? For Peaches, the objective has simply been achieved.

“I do believe Mink now knows how beloved she is to us, and I also believe she’s really enjoying her new married life and seems more content with a quieter, more private chapter,” she notes. “The truth is, if she were motivated, I’d keep putting her up on a pedestal in every far-reaching town around the world.”

Retiring from the Road, But Not the World

When the dust settles on the 2026 tour, both artists will be pivoting toward vastly different horizons. For Peaches, the focus remains firmly on preserving the legacy of San Francisco’s drag underground. She is currently developing a feature film detailing the gruelling, eight-year production of the 1991 cult sci-fi drag classic Vegas in Space, spearheaded by the late Australian drag icon Doris Fish.

“My pitch is that it’s the spirit of Tim Burton’s Ed Wood about the making of Plan 9, but instead it’s Peaches Christ’s Doris Fish about the making of Vegas in Space,” Peaches explains, noting they are currently searching for the perfect lead. “We need to cast someone incredible as Doris so we’re working on that at the moment.”

Beyond that, she intends to hit the American road with Sleepaway Camp: The Midnight Mass Experience, starring Felissa Rose, teasing a potential UK transfer if successful.

Stole, meanwhile, is embracing a markedly more domestic rhythm. The manic energy of her iconic Waters characters—personalities she notes she “wouldn’t have enjoyed spending time with in real life”—has been traded for creative pursuits far removed from the glare of a stage light. Even her late-career passion for live music has a deeply personal, low-key origin story.

“My favorite thing is when younger drag performers who were raised on television drag see the show and seem genuinely surprised, shocked, and hopefully inspired,” she [Peaches Christ] says.

“My love of singing is something I discovered relatively late in my career, when my friend Brian Grillo asked me to perform one of his songs at a Sunday afternoon bar show,” Stole recalls. “We were both surprised at how well I did, and how much I enjoyed it! I eventually recorded a CD, Do Re Mink, with my Wonderful Band, and dedicated it to Brian.”

For the truly devoted, VIP tickets for the upcoming tour offer priority seating and a post-show meet and greet, providing one last chance to interact with a defining figure of queer cinema. Yet, Stole herself is entirely at peace with stepping out of the spotlight.

“While I’m sad to be saying goodbye to Idol Worship, I’m not saying goodbye to the world, just to touring,” Stole affirms. “I’m married now, for the first time, and am thoroughly enjoying the enormous change that has made to my life. I stay creative by studying piano (an activity I recommend to anyone and everyone!) and I’ve recently taken up watercolors, which I also love. I hope I will get the opportunity to perform again – nothing is better than being in front of a live audience – but I truly love just being at home with my husband!”

All Images: Peaches Christ & Mink Stole (c) Mettie Ostrowski