Priscilla Queen of the Desert

What a fun evening we had. It was not one to sit still, with a score full of hits from the 80s, it was definitely a foot-tapping experience.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert follows the journey of two drag queens and a transgender woman as they travel across Australia in their bus, named Priscilla. Eventually forming a bond that they know will last forever.

BMTC are well known for their quality singing, and as soon as the Divas, played by Sian Cameron, Emma Wyatt and Beth Squire began to sing, we knew this was going to be another exciting performance.  The three main characters, Brett Dewsbury as the more sensible Tick/Mitzi, James Price as the excitable and youthful Adam/Felicia, and Adam Merrell as the transgender Bernadette, complemented each other very well. Three different characters, adding depth to their performance. Each performing their individual numbers confidently and bringing tight harmonies together when joining forces. There are some lovely cameo roles in this show, none more so than Shirley played by Sonia Cameron, whose number was great fun, there were also confident performances from Louise Hewitt as Marion and Peter Brown as Bob. There is no doubt that Shu Shah’s party piece as Cynthia brought the house down.....anyone for (table) tennis?

The ensemble is always well drilled in their dance routines and the colourful, rather large, costumes added to the spectacle on stage. Congratulations to Sian Cameron and Alex Woolliscroft for incorporating such costumes into their dances.

One of my favourite scenes was the use of the giant curtain to reveal the many guises of the main characters during their performance in Alice Springs, this had great timing and was well executed.

The scenery was simple but effective and was well lit bringing the disco numbers to life. Scene changes happened seamlessly, mainly by members of cast, and the show was constantly moving along.

As I said earlier, the music no doubt makes the show, and Alex Priestley had once again done an excellent job directing the music, being equally supported by a very competent band, the balance of which was just right.

All in all, the show was well directed by Kelly & Richard Tye and there were some imaginative ideas in the performance.  Once again it was my privilege to go and see this society, well done to all involved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.