Fast-paced and dazzling, a show to lift the spirits
Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical,
Bristol Hippodrome
WHEN it was released in 1994, Oscar-winning The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was as controversial as it was successful.
An Australian road movie about two drag performers and a transgender woman driving across the Outback in a dilapidated pink bus, it is now regarded as an LGBT classic well ahead of its time.
Almost three decades on and the themes of inclusion and tolerance are as relevant today as they were then.
This new stage production of Priscilla the Musical marks the producer debut of Australian star Jason Donovan, who performed in the cast of the original West End production.
Back on the road thanks in part to the support of the UK government’s Cultural Recovery Fund, this dazzling live show has been produced by the team behind the critically acclaimed UK tours of Hairspray, with direction by Ian Talbot.
Colourful and gloriously OTT, this show is all about the lavish costumes, risqué jokes and back-toback dancefloor classics, but there is a heart-warming back story of selfdiscovery and friendship as the trio encounter homophobia and violence on their travels.
The dance routines are quite spectacular and the audience were singing along from the high-energy opening of It’s Raining Men.
Miles Western brings maturity and class to the part of Bernadette (a role played by Terence Stamp in the film) and Nick Hayes camps it up beautifully as Adam/Felicia.
As Tick/Mitzi, who has to reveal that he has wife and son back home, Edwin Ray brings a sensitive edge to the role and there is solid support from Neighbours veteran Daniel Fletcher as kind-hearted Bob.
The performers barely pause for breath – not to mention the impressively quick and endless costume changes – as they belt out vintage gay disco anthems like Hot Stuff, I Will Survive, Go West and Don’t Leave Me This Way.
But the best song for me was the long-forgotten classic MacArthur Park, with the ensemble dressed as colourful cupcakes as they sang the line ‘Someone left the cake out in the rain’. I’m not sure what Richard Harris would have made of it though.
Glamorous, glittery and genuinely feel-good, this was a fast-paced, dazzling show to lift the spirits.
The show runs at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday, October 2.