Priscilla Queen of the Desert

“Priscilla Queen of the Desert” was adapted from the 1994 Australian film “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. It tells the story of two drag queens and a transgender woman who journey across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus they name Priscilla!

The director, Jon Berridge has done an excellent job in transforming this production into a really happy, toe-tapping feel good show. Musical director, Barbara Hockey, along with a talented nine-piece band provided amazing musical accompaniment throughout the show. Sheena Forster has also done incredibly well with the choreography, with many different styles performed by some excellent dancers, I would however, have liked to see something more adventurous in the scenes with the really outrageous costumes, but this is just my personal opinion. Well done to all the production team!

There were some stunning performances from the cast. Craig Douglas was excellent as Tick/Mitzi he had a terrific well-sustained Australian accent and gave a strong, confident performance there were a couple of tuning issues, but this is something he can work on in the future. Kev Maltby gave a brilliant performance as the flamboyant Adam/Felicia - this role really suited his personality. Adrian West-Tooms was outstanding as Bernadette and brought sensitivity and humour to the role. The three Divas, played by Heather Allan, Hannah McDaid and Katie-Rose Parker looked and sounded awesome, well done! There were some very noteworthy performances too in the smaller roles, Kev Aitken as Bob, Martin Brown as Farrah, Heidi Coleman as Marion, Oli Hackett as Benji, Terry West as Pastor/Country Boy, Ashley Malcolmson as Jimmy, Phil Mills as Miss Understanding, Katy Scotcher as Shirley and Belinda Steward as Cynthia. Congratulations and well done to all the dancers and ensemble, you were all amazing!

The sets were all wonderful and the scene changes were well-executed. The tour bus was excellent and moved expertly around the stage. The costumes were fantastic and very colourful. The make-up and wigs were on the whole of a very good standard. The lighting quality was excellent throughout as was the sound, apart from a couple of times it was difficult to hear the ensemble.

Thank you C.A.T.S for this very special performance of Priscilla Queen of the Desert which was enthusiastically received by all the audience and myself!

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