Glamour has never been more grotesque than in Female Trouble, which injects the Hollywood melodrama with anarchic decadence. Divine, director John Waters’ larger-than-life muse, engulfs the screen with charisma as Dawn Davenport, the living embodiment of the film’s lurid mantra, “Crime is beauty,” who progresses from a teenage nightmare hell-bent on getting cha-cha heels for Christmas to a fame monster whose egomaniacal impulses land her in the electric chair. Shot in Waters’ native Baltimore on 16 mm, with a cast drawn from his beloved troupe of regulars, this film­—the director’s favorite of his work with Divine—is an endlessly quotable fan favourite, Female Trouble offers up perverse pleasures that never fail to satisfy.

Screening as part of John Waters Day. Passes to see all 4 films are priced at £30 (standard), £25 (concessions). Just add a ticket to each of the four films at the relevant price band to your basket and a discount will be applied during checkout.

Individual film tickets are also available at QUAD’s normal ticket prices.