Review: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

‘Priscilla: Queen of the Desert’ - A Review of the Opening Night on Friday 13th May 2022 at 7.30pm by Gill Atacocugu

What a wonderful opening night it was for the Dennis Lowe Theatre Company, as they put on a simply fabulous production of the Australian based musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Spa Pavilion. This musical theatre rendition was a bi-product of the book by Stephen Elliott and Alan Scott. There was also a film made in 1994 called The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Every member of the Dennis Lowe Theatre Company was terrific from the outset. They all sang, danced and acted incredibly well - proving that Felixstowe really does have talent! The start of Act One introduced the audience to the amazing three divas - Suzie, Laura and Martha, who throughout the production were dressed in silver and wore bright red wigs, Their main role was to sing an array of anthems from the 1970's through to the early 2000's, as the three principal characters - drag queens: Tick, Bernadette and Adam (aka Felicia) lip-synced as part of their act. That said, the three drag queens could each belt out a tune too - and they frequently did. Tick, played by Michael Haywood - Smith, sang Aretha Franklin's I Say a Little Prayer soon after receiving a phone call from his wife Marion while he was off stage after performing as MItzi Mitosis. Marion was calling from the other side of Australia in Alice Springs as she tried to persuade Tick to travel there in order to perform in a show at a casino. She also wanted him to meet his son, Benji.

Unsure whether he should Go West to Alice Springs and meet his son, Tick is suddenly reunited with transgender Bernadette (Dean Wales) as she mourns the death of her husband, Trumpet. The funeral scene is obviously meant to be sad but is actually hilarious as the cross dressing mourners and priest are all incredibly over dramatic and start singing Don't Leave Me This Way.

As Tick and Bernadette agree to head to Alice Springs together, they are joined by Adam, another Drag Queen (played by Jon Bingham) who has the wonderful idea of buying a van in which they can all travel. Adam explained that a phone call to mummy has enabled him to buy the van - as he tells her it may help him to 'get over the phase he is going through'. The unsubtle van - complete with an enormous silver sparkly stiletto shoe on the roof, is named Priscilla, and together the three venture across the country in her, stopping at a variety of places as they go.

This production has many fantastic scenes and truly creative costumes, but a moment to mention is when Adam lip-syncs to Sempre Libera from the opera La Traviata, whilst sitting on the roof of Priscilla dressed in silver. Adam's melodramatic gestures as the music plays is truly captivating and entertaining.

Throughout the performance there is a mixture of comedic absurdities and blatant homophobia as the three stop in particular places en route to their final destination. There is a lot of pelvic thrusting for example, from a character named Shirl who is clearly out for a good time in a redneck bar. Whilst in Act Two, at a bar in Broken Hill, both Adam and Priscilla are sadly the victims of hate crimes.

When Priscilla breaks down, the three principal characters meet Bob, a mechanic and his oriental wife, Cynthia. Bob recalls going to Sydney years ago and seeing the act Les Girls - an act that Bernadette starred in. He also states that his wife is no longer permitted to perform her speciality act in public - something that Cynthia is clearly displeased about! The audience do however, get to see Cynthia's act, as she gate crashes a performance by the drag queens and ping pong balls start to fly in all directions!

As Bob's relationship with Cynthia breaks down, he and Bernadette become much closer - they even share cake and champagne together. This night of tenderness leads the cast and Tick to sing MacArthur Park with an enormous tiered cake and people dressed in costumes complete with green icing, dripping down.

Towards the end of the production the drag queens reach Alice Springs and Tick gets to meet Benji for the first time. Worried what Benji would think of him if he discovers his dad is a drag queen, Tick merely tells his son that he works in 'show business'. The astute and adorable Benji - played by seven year old Harry Stainton-Rainbird, soon realises that his dad prefers men to women and is totally accepting of his father being in drag, There follows a touching scene where Tick reads Benji a bedtime story and then sings the Elvis hit You Are Always on My Mind to his son. As for Bernadette, she discovers that she has met the man of her dreams in the form of Bob, while Adam is more than delighted to be able to perform in drag at the top of Ayers Rock (Uluru).

Despite the underlying theme of the show being how difficult is was, and often still is, for cross-dressers and transgender people to be accepted by many in society, the production is one which I urge you to see. It is packed with fun, feathers, sass and crudeness. There are more musical hits than you can shake a stick at, plus a happy ending - showing that love, friendship and supportiveness can overcome adversity,

Well done to all at the Dennis Lowe Company - this couldn't have been an easy production to deliver - yet you all did it marvellously and the audience were rapturous at the end. Well done!

For your chance to see this phenomenal show, there are more performances on Saturday 14th May 2022 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Also on Sunday 15th May 2022 at 6.00pm. | TICKETS - tinyurl.com/PriscillaDLTC