Priscilla Queen of the Desert

I don’t know what to say about this evening’s production. I think that the reaction of the audience throughout and, particularly the standing ovation at the end said everything more succinctly than my words. Everyone on stage, production team, musicians and technicians must have gone home with a smile on their faces and a warm glow inside.

The show moved on at a good pace and the amount of energy expended would be enough to operate the theatre lighting.

Patrick Jervis (Tick/Mitzi), Pete Beck (Bernadette) and Adam Gregory (Adam/Felicia) grabbed the challenges of these roles with both hands and worked really well together. All three sang, danced and acted showing the range of emotions necessary to describe their journey together. I thought that Chelsea Regan, Lauren Orgill and Vanessa Blake as the three Divas could have been a professional singing group such was the synchronicity of movement and harmony singing. I could go through the cast list writing comments about everyone but this review would be so long that no-one would have time to read it. An adventure like this would be very short without the contributions in important roles by Connor Brooks (Miss Understanding), Lucy Surtees (Marion), Connor Orchard (Benji), Jonathan Blake (Farrah), Ben Green (Pastor), Hudson Mitchell (Lars/Young Bernadette), Selina Henson (Shirley), Anil Patel (Jimmy), Chris Stanley (Bob), Shu Sachdev (Cynthia) and Peter Bourne (Frank). Some of these characterisations needed a tenderness and some needed comedy timing. Whatever was needed it was delivered. The choreography was very inventive and executed with precision which was a challenge itself considering the amount of space available for dancing on occasions. The singing was strong throughout whether it by principals or the excellent ensemble. The music for singing and dancing was well supported by the excellent orchestra.

The use and movement of the excellent bus was well handled by the cast and stage crew. I particularly liked the use of the tower for the Divas when the Queens were lip syncing.

The costumes were very impressive and the quick changes worked perfectly. The whole production was well supported by the lighting and sound technicians. Well done to everyone involved!   

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