Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

After lengthy delays because of Covid, this production hit the stage with great gusto, costumes and hair pieces, good choreography, singing and acting. It tells the story of two drag queens and a trans woman who contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs. As everyone can imagine, their journey in their bus named Priscilla does not go to plan. The people that they meet in the country are so different from the more sophisticated city dwellers and add challenges and humour to their journey. They do get to the Alice at the end of what was an entertaining trip, at least for the audience. The songs were juke–box hits of the seventies and eighties that brought back memories and helped tell the story.

Congratulations to directors Madeleine Johns and Taylah McLennan for this night of good theatre. Everything went smoothly at a very high standard. I was very impressed with Priscilla, the bus, a crucial part of the story line.  The musical flowed with only a couple of minor hitches with voice mikes. The cast was uniformly good.

The three divas – Maddison Coleman, Paige McKay and Laura Greenhaigh – were the link between various scenes and they manage that extremely well with great singing and glorious attire. Alex Watson was outstanding as Felicia, with a good voice and just enough over- the - top “camp”. Conor Ensor as Tick had a great voice but was perhaps little too conservative in his interpretation of the drag queen. The central trio was completed by Shannon Foley as Bernadette who was on the same level of excellence. The entire cast was great. The language was somewhat over the top, as the audience was warned, but that has almost become the norm in this modern world.

Redcliffe Musical Theatre has continued to produce ever better musicals as complete works of entertainment. This is right at the top of the ladder. Very highly recommended.

William Davies

Photographer: Ben McShea (Beak Photographics)