Review: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

534 days after closing their doors because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Birmingham Hippodrome reopened on Monday with a performance of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, part of the show’s national tour. The musical is adapted from the 1994 Australian film of the same name about a group of drag queens travelling through the Australian Outback in a van nicknamed ‘Priscilla’, to perform a show in Alice Springs.

The musical managed to strike the right mix of humour and heart, with particularly touching scenes towards the end of the show. However, the plot does not deviate much from the film, so fans will already know what happens. This does not mean the musical is not worth seeing if you are familiar with the film though, as the stage production offers a lot beyond plot.

The musical managed to strike the right mix of humour and heart, with particularly touching scenes towards the end of the show

A highlight of the production was, of course, the soundtrack which is made up of classic gay anthems from the likes of Gloria Gaynor and The Communards – if you did not know better, you really would think you had stepped into a bar in the gay village. The use of well loved tunes meant the show had a real party atmosphere, which was much appreciated after almost two years without the theatre.

Visually, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was also impressive, with rapid costume changes (including characters coming in and out of drag in a matter of seconds) and clever set design representing the van. If you have ever seen a production of Les Miserables, expect the exact opposite, with bright colours and sparkles galore.

This production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert felt like reliving the experience of going to a pantomime as a child. The innuendoes, atmosphere, and of course, drag queens, made for the kind of fun night grown-ups only get every once in a while.

Kitty Grant

After a year and a half without being able to go to the theatre, my expectations were very high when the Birmingham Hippodrome doors swung open once more – a moment I had dreamed of throughout the whole of the pandemic. Kicking off the return of the theatre had to be Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a musical that most certainly entertained the audience, doing everything that theatre is supposed to.

Before arriving I was sceptical as to whether Priscilla would live up to my dreams of watching a live performance again; I had never watched the film that the musical is based upon and therefore my knowledge of the show was very vague. However, this did not stop me from immersing myself in the world of two drag-queens (Felicia Jollygoodfellow and Mitzi Mitosis) and transexual (Bernadette Bassenger) and being pleasantly surprised with how exciting and joyous the show was.

Amongst all of the colourful and creative drag costumes, hilarious innuendos, and upbeat songs […] lay a story of love and acceptance

For anybody who is yet to experience the wonderful musical produced by Jason Donovan, it revolves around the three personalities mentioned above setting off in a bus and performing at a drag show in the Australian outback – far from their safety net of Sydney. I expected this to be as deep as the show would get; however, amongst all of the colourful and creative drag costumes, hilarious innuendos, and upbeat songs (including ‘It’s Raining Men’ and ‘I Will Survive,’ to name just a couple) lay a story of love and acceptance. The scenes in which the loveable trio were victims of abuse against the LGBTQ+ community were hard-hitting and made the acceptance from characters such as Bob, and Tick’s son even more emotional and raw. Their support for the LGBTQ+ community did not go unnoticed, becoming characters with the most beautiful of hearts – the world needs more people like Bob.

If one thing is for sure, Priscilla is a musical that cannot be missed. It consists of the perfect balance of humour, entertainment and emotion which has the ability to have the audience clapping along whilst having a tear in their eye at the same time. It is a musical rarity that will remain such a precious moment to have witnessed. As the musical continues on its UK tour, I encourage everyone to take a trip through the Australian outback and get ready to watch the best drag show of their lives.