The producers of Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical are obviously very aware of the audience that they are attracting to the Theatre Royal Brighton and, at every opportunity, they give them exactly what they want. With a huge supply of million selling classic songs like Finally, Colour My World, Go West, Hot Stuff, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, I Will Survive and Boogie Wonderland, over-the-top drag outfits, some wonderfully comic one-liners and, of course, a group of stunningly handsome boy dancers (Jak Allen-Anderson, Jordan Cunningham, Martin Harding, Justin-Lee Jones, Edwin Ray and Kevin Yates) who seem to be having the time of their lives working their way through all of the semi-nude and seriously camp dance numbers in the production.
Of course, Priscilla, is not just a story about Australian drag queens on a bus, it also dips into the lives of each of the three main characters and, in a series of very poignant scenes, each one reveals just a little of the heartache, danger and sense of loss that, all too often, is par for the course for gay, bi and trans people all over the world.
Nick Hayes plays Adam, and his superb drag alter-ego, the unbelievably bitchy, Felicia Jollygoodfellow. Making the most of incredibly good looks and a tremendous body, “she” is always there with a witty retort or a flirty dance number, which makes the scene where he breaks down in tears after a gay-bashing incident, so much more effective, and he plays both parts of the role beautifully.
Despite her feisty outward appearance, transsexual Bernadette, played by Miles Western, is barely holding herself together as she contends with a life that is full of loss, dashed hopes and seemingly unattainable dreams. As an ageing drag performer she comes out of retirement to join the boys on the bus for another chance to shine as a diva, and one last chance to look for some sort of happiness along the way. Western certainly makes this role his own and gives all he has to the more dramatic scenes that he gets to play.
Joe McFadden is a revelation as Tick / Mitzi. Although his diminutive stature is overshadowed by the other two, his crystal clear voice shines through in numbers like I Say a Little Prayer and Macarthur Park and, in the scene where Tick meets with his estranged son Benji (tonight played just perfectly by Casper Horn) the laughter that has permeated the entire performance is mixed with tears for many in the audience, as his joy at being called “Dad” for the first time is quite overwhelming.
The supporting cast all work tremendously hard with Aisha Pease, Claudia Kariuki and Rosie Glossop providing continuity as the Divas, Natalie Chua, Emma Crossely and Nell Martin completing the dance troupe, Daniel Fletcher as the unexpected “love interest” and mechanic Bob, Miranda Wilford as Tick’s wife Marion and Jacqui Sanchez as Bob’s fantastic wife Cynthia – a woman who knows how to do a very impressive trick with ping pong balls!
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – The Musical will never change the world, but that’s not what it’s there for. It’s there to show us that diversity is great, that real friends count for so much and that we only get one shot at life, so why not make it a wonderful, colourful, song-filled party!
***** Five Stars