THEATRE SPOTLIGHT: PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT
Last Updated on 20th November 2023 by Bejal
Get your glad rags on ladies and gents, the award-winning, Priscilla Queen of the Desert is on at the Curve, Leicester as part of it’s UK tour. It’s the perfect post-lockdown cure with it’s heart-warmingly funny storyline with a plethora of innuendos, leaving you in stitches and simultaneously leaving one rosy-tinted from blushing..
Disclosure: I received a press invite to experience ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’. All opinions and views are my own and along with non-production photography remain a copyright of be-lavie.
The one and only stage and screen legend, Jason Donovan, who played Mitzi Mitosis in the West End production, worked as a producer for the very first time on the show – now…you just know you’re in for a treat!!
Based on the Oscar winning, 1994 film, Priscilla Queen of the Desert the musical, follows two drag queens and a transsexual who buy a run-down, battered old bus they name Priscilla, and set out on a road trip across the Australian Outback when one of them, Tick, is invited by his ex-wife to perform his drag show at her far-away resort in Alice Springs.
However, Tick is hesitant to tell his friends, Bernadette (a former performing icon who’s best days are behind her) and Felica/Adam (a rambunctious young troublemaker), his own personal reasons for taking the trip. During their journey, the trio encounter an array of Australian citizens, some of who aren’t receptive to their lifestyle choices, while strengthening their own friendship. Here unfolds the crux of the story, the collisions of two worlds, a painstaking journey of self-discovery, not to mention the bond of friendship intertwined with the true power of love, acceptance topped with a fine measure of sass.
The show boasts an incredible cast of performers belting out some classic powerhouses (The three Divas are phenomenal) as well as a talented ensemble of dances getting you shimmying along in your seat but the three leads Tick, Bernadette and Felicia delivered an absolutely jaw-droppingly first class performance.
With an impressive line-up of stage and theatre credits between them, the chemistry between these three worked seamlessly and can only be described as true masters of theatre. Tick/Mitzi played by Edwin Ray (stage and film credits to name a few include, Mary Poppins, Chicago, We will Rock You, Waking the Dead), Bernadette played by Miles-Western (including theatre roles such as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Twelfth Night, UK Tour of Pirates of Penzance and TV roles including playing Martin in Absolutely fabulous and Harry Lebovitz in Doctors) and Felicia/ Adam (Nick Hayes, who has Tv credits such as Tom Hortman in Doctors, Orson in Hollyoaks: In the City as well as stage appearances such as legally Blond and fame UK tour as well as the international tour of Mamma Mia).
In the word’s of Jason Donovan (In an interview with the Curve, released 10 Sept 2021)
‘The show is about escapism. a story about overcoming adversity. Plus as a musical it’s sort of a celebration of life. Priscilla can be harsh and tough at times in the subjects it deals with’
Jason Donovan has articulated this perfectly, as the show delves into acceptance, diversity and respect, this is something that the pandemic has taught us in uniting and working together.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert is an absolute feast for the eyes in technicolour! A dazzling kaleidoscope of costumes, a sing-a long-sound track that will have you hooked from the first scene where ‘It’s raining men’ opens the show and has the audience on it’s feet within seconds. Wonderfully choreographed dance-routines and classic powerhouse tunes such as Hot Suff, I will Survive, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Finally and so many more! Oh and this is one show you need to be prepared feeling under-dressed for! Think impressive wigs, false lashes galore and a penchant for the essences of a Jean-Paul Gautier wardrobe. Sublime. This, my friends, is feel good theatre at its absolute best with a maraschino cherry on!
Prepare to be dazzled by the greatest disco anthems the world has ever known under one roof accompanied by a fine helping of high-heels, glitter, glamour, charm, heartache, self-belief and friendship in abundance. Priscilla Queen of the Desert is exquisitely delivered with a marvellously memorable performance leaving you reeling for more, quoting the lines and singing the tunes well after you’ve cleared the auditorium.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert is iconic! Period!
Priscilla Queen of the Desert showing from Monday 13 September -Saturday 18 September 2021
- Address: The Curve. Alexandra House, 60 Rutland St, Leicester LE1 1SB
- Box Office: 0116 242 3595
- Box Office Email: tickets@curvetheatre.co.uk
- Website: Curve Theatre.
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