Any self-respecting homosexual will know the story of the 1994 movie, ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ by now. Two drag queens and a trans woman hop on a coach from Sydney to put on a show in Alice Springs.  Along the way, they trade barbs, encounter a number of bigots and put on the most spectacular numbers in the most extravagant costumes.  It’s a road movie with a sequin-laden twist.

The musical version of the show, ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical’ isn’t a whole lot different. It’s pretty much the same plot with the addition of a lot more music. It was in fact, one of the earlier and more notable of the so-called jukebox stage musicals alongside ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘Jersey Boys’ and ‘We Will Rock You’.

I first saw the musical version in May 2009 at the Palace Theatre in London (the theatre now running a play written by she-who-must-not-be-named). It starred Jason Donovan as Tick/Mitzi and Tony Sheldon as Bernadette. The show then had three UK tours in the intervening years and now it’s back for a fourth.

This time, we have Kevin Clifton (Strictly Come Dancing) as Tick/Mitzi, Adele Anderson (Fascinating Aida) as Bernadette, Nick Hayes (Groundhog Day the musical) as Felicia/Adam and Peter Duncan, as Bob. Many of us (of a certain age) will remember Peter from a children’s tv show called ‘Blue Peter’ where on one occasion, he scaled the 170ft Nelson’s Column without a safety harness (health and safety wasn’t a thing in those days).

‘Priscilla’ doesn’t let up for a second. It opens in a Sydney club, hosted by Miss Understanding, where we first meet our three leads. A few plot contrivances later and we’re on the road.

Kevin from Grimsby is an excellent Tick/Mitzi showing off an extremely competent singing voice and bringing enough empathy to his role to carry us with him. Also, his interaction with the child actor playing his son as they sing a mash-up of ‘Always on my mind’ and ‘Say a little prayer’ is beautifully done. Adele as Bernadette brings the required class and style to do (nearly) as good a job as the incomparable Terence Stamp and Nick brings the acerbic wit and ultimate pathos we’ve come to know from Felicia/Adam.

The set is ingenuous and simple, enabling the many changes of location to be perfectly depicted but the main credit for this production has to be given to the (very hot) ensemble and those working behind the scenes. The choreography of the many musical numbers, alongside the costume changes for each number look like a logistical nightmare but they flawlessly pull it off.

While we’ve heard some of the more famous lines many times now, the shoe-horning in of MacArthur Park will never not be funny and the ping pong act alongside ‘Pop Music’ never fails to bring the house down. Also, the inclusion of ‘The Morning After’ will please fans of 1970s disaster movies. The show zips along at such a pace that even you don’t know one particular song, they’re on the next that you probably will know.

I saw the show at the Theatre Royal Brighton after which it leaves for Leicester then Sheffield and Bradford before finishing it’s run in Truro on 18^th July. Definitely recommended for a fun, camp evening out. 

Tour Ad: https://youtu.be/xoQlnMUQ61A?si=Kyn0h_6Y9WMsTdFb