Rating: ★★★★
Venue: New Victoria Theatre, Woking
The Broadway and West End musical comedy sensation follows three friends on a hilarious and heartwarming road trip across the Australian Outback to stage the show of a lifetime. Priscilla Queen Of The Desert is a joyous celebration of unity, love, and being unapologetically yourself.
This musical extravaganza is packed with an iconic soundtrack full of your favourite 80s and 90s disco and dance anthems, including; HOT STUFF, IT'S RAINING MEN, I WILL SURVIVE, GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN, FINALLY and many more.
Having had tickets to the 2021 tour of Priscilla Queen of the Desert that was sadly cancelled due to lockdown, I have been bitter about not getting to see this show ever since. Five years later and I FINALLY got the chance and I was not disappointed! This show is absolutely as much fun as it sounds with a hidden layer of heart underneath. It is packed full of iconic 80s and 90s anthems that fit seamlessly into the story, a particular favourite being the ballad version of ‘Always On My Mind’, and the penultimate number of the show ‘Confide in Me’, performed by the incredibly talented Fionan O’Carroll who covered the role of Felicia in this performance.
The story follows three drag performers, Tick aka Mitzi Del Bra (Kevin Clifton) gets a call from his estranged wife (Billie Hardy) to travel across Australia to the hotel and casino she works in to put on a new show, and to meet his son for the first time. He convinces Bernadette, a transgender woman grieving the loss of her husband, and Adam aka Felicia Jollygoodfellow (Nick Hayes) to join him on a trip across the Australian Outback in a converted school bus affectionately christened ‘Priscilla’, where the three form an unlikely friendship and face a series of obstacles including discrimination, engine trouble, and a lot of anxieties.
The movie is often seen as a pinnacle in queer cinema, bringing LGBTQ+ representation in the mainstream art and covers the discussion around the importance of exposing children to the drag and transgender community, and giving children the chance to demonstrate natural acceptance. However, the book remains dated and problematic in other ways, containing some cultural appropriation. The flow of the story also feels a little broken at times, and I didn’t love the use of the half video screens in place of big extravagant backdrops which is what the show calls for. I do understand the constraints of a touring set, but I also feel that this wasn’t a sacrifice worth making. They also disappointingly served as a missed opportunity for integrated accessibility.
But this show also does a lot right. The character of Bernadette, a transgender woman, is historically played by a cisgender man. Cabaret legend Adèle Anderson plays Bernadette in this tour, the first time a transgender woman has been cast in this role in the UK and a huge leap for trans representation in the UK theatre scene. There is a lot of humour in the script, and some lovely arrangements of well-known songs (Stephen “Spud” Murphy). I have never seen so much glitz and glamour, Vicky Gill’s costumes and Matt Cole’s choreography are the true main characters here. Dazzlingly beautiful costumes and fun, full-out choreography are the features that really make the show as fabulous as it is. Some elements of the set design (Andrew Exeter) are especially clever, I love the attention to detail using the original numberplate of the real bus used in the movie and the curtains used towards the end when they are performing at the casino, a scene which was also fabulously directed by Ian Talbot.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert is not the most memorable show I’ve ever seen, but a truly enjoyable evening out that I would definitely recommend others to catch at least once.
You can book tickets to the Priscilla Queen of the Desert UK tour here.
Review by Rachel
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