Priscilla Queen of the Desert

It was great to see the return of Brighton and Hove Operatic Society to NODA membership after, in their words, a few years in the wilderness. The group returning to their old and established name and relaunching of the society with a huge production like Priscilla are both master strokes. What’s more the Old Market venue is also the perfect place to stage it given its central proximity to the BHOS demographic, ensuring that their Hove patrons also feel a part of the fun.

Chairman and show producer Andy Stoner’s production was slick and superbly presented from the outset with incredible 3D graphics projected and used to great effect throughout. Nathan Potter and Lea Spells' choreography was full of the passion and energy befitting the antipodean extravaganza in equal measure to the deft and witty direction provided by Tania Newton, whose little comic touches brought extra dimension to the story and the characters.

The vocal performances too were all there and it was a highlight to enjoy the total coherence and superb voices of the three Divas who, when delivered so well, carry the entire show weaving through the scenes and plot as pseudo narrators as they do. Lucy Newton, Sophie Graffin and Lucia Romero Clark were all exceptional singers equally matched and all delivering with mastery when taking the lead vocal duty while ably supporting in the subtle harmony work. Tony Bright was a loveable and moving character in the role of Tick and his McArthur Park brought the house down! Josh Hanson’s portrayal of Adam the youngest and cattiest of the three drag queens was refined and never over stated, balancing the brash with vulnerable in just the perfect equilibrium.

The role of Bernadette is undoubtedly the lead in the show and with the lion’s share of the most hilarious and often cutting comedy lines it is a gift of a role to any actor and one that will almost always be held with affection by the audience. However Wain Douglas did not just cover the part, he brought so much more to the party, delivering exceptional comic timing, an on-point vocal powerhouse delivery of the musical numbers and most importantly a truly spot-on Australian accent which utterly validated the character.

The remaining company were all of a standard that added to the show immensely and it would be impossible to single out any one particular person without mentioning them all. Suffice to say my one disappointment was that it was a shame not to have a live band to enhance such fantastic vocal abilities. This was only a minor blight as BHOS covered it creditably, but it’s a theme I have spotted with the two most recent productions of Priscilla I have seen, where it seems that a huge array of albeit fabulous costumes appears to have left insufficient budget to put the icing on the cake in other departments, especially live musicians. Backing tracks are a solution that doesn’t quite work, for me, on this particular show, especially as the tracks are often questionable in mix and balance. A live band was the only thing separating this from a professional production.

There was however, plenty of icing to be had. The company created their spectacular bus ‘Priscilla’ entirely themselves and it was perfect and seemingly very easy to handle giving way to slick and speedy scene changes and multiple viewing angles. The addition of an animated background for Adam’s chase sequence and then the use of slow motion strobe was a touch of genius and brought spontaneous mid-scene applause from the audience.

This was the best amdram production of the show that I have witnessed and was a fitting return for one of the areas finest and longest established theatre companies. Welcome back BHOS!

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