Priscilla’s on the road again and heading to city

The hit musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is heading for the Theatre Royal from Monday, as part of a major UK tour.

With more glitz, glitter and glamour than ever before, the show features a dazzling array of eye-popping costumes, spectacular dance routines and a non-stop soundtrack of disco anthems.

Based on the Oscar-winning film, the musical tells the hilarious and heart-warming story of friends Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette, three performance artists travelling across the Australian desert in a battered old bus called Priscilla.

On their adventure, two worlds collide as they experience a journey of self-discovery and embrace the true power of love, friendship, acceptance and sass before arriving in Alice Springs to stage the show of a lifetime.

Miles Western stars as Bernadette alongside Nick Hayes as Adam/felicia and Edwin Ray as Tick/mitzi. They are joined by Daniel Fletcher as Bob, Rebecca Lisewski as Marion, Kevin Yates as Miss Understanding, Gracie Lai as Cynthia and Ronan Burns as Frank.

Priscilla marks Jason Donovan’s first time as a producer, having performed in the cast of the original West End production and two subsequent UK tours. The producing team is completed by Mark Goucher, Gavin Kalin and Matthew Gale. This brand new production comes from the creative team behind the critically acclaimed UK tours of Hairspray, with direction by Ian Talbot and choreography by Tom Jackson-greaves.

Designs are by Charles Cusick Smith and Phil R Daniels with lighting by Ben Cracknell and sound by Ben Harrison.

This tour first opened in September 2019 and had just announced an extension in March 2020 when performances had to be paused due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical has been developed for the stage by Simon Phillips with musical arrangements and orchestrations by Stephen “Spud” Murphy and Charlie Hull.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical tours to the Theatre Royal Bath from Monday, July 26, to Saturday, July 31. Tickets are on sale at the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 and online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk

Weekend catches up with Jason Donovan – see inside