Location: The Orchard Theatre, Dartford
Date Seen: Friday 29th April
Seen With: Mum
Understudies at This Performance: Rebecca Botterill as Diva
Summary
Priscilla
Queen Of The Desert is a musical based on a film of the same name following the
journey of group of friends and drag queens as they cross Australia for a new gig. On the way
they experience the judgement of others as well as acceptance of each other and
themselves.
I’d
previously seen Priscilla in the West End
several years ago and absolutely loved the upbeat songs and lavish costumes. My
mum in particular wanted to see this at our local theatre as when I saw it with
her in the West End we were in the upper
circle with a pretty dire view.
Acting
The
show is very over the top and cartoonish in a way due to the comedy and
costumes. Behind this, the actors do well to not over-act and as a result there
is still emotion in the characters which means there is a developing story
throughout. There are moments such as
when the trio of Tick, Felicia and Bernadette face prejudice from out of town
locals and Tick meeting his son for the first time that have moments of
poignancy and balance the fast pace of the rest of the show.
Music & Songs
The
music featured are a variety of pop songs from different eras which have been
artistically arranged to provide a unique identity for this show. The Divas
provide some solid vocals throughout and provide the backdrop to many of the
drag acts. The vocal highlight of this show comes in Act 2 when Tick, Felicia
and Bernadette are stood on Ayers Rock singing ‘We Belong’ symbolising how far
they’ve come together. It’s a change of tempo and a great opportunity for
vocals and harmonies to be thrust into the limelight. There appeared to be a
single song change from the West End production
which was from ‘Both Sides Now’ to ‘True Colours’. Whilst I appreciate ‘True
Colours’ is better known, I much preferred the original song.
Choreography
The
routines in Priscilla are one of the reasons why I’ve seen this show so many
times. Each number has its own unique identity with lots of energy. Stand out
numbers are ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ which puts an interesting spin on a party, ‘I Will Survive’ which finishes Act 1
on a real high note and the medley towards the end of the show really uses the
cast in an extremely clever and effective way.
Direction
This
touring production hasn’t lost too much of its West End
flare thanks to the direction that has been applied. Although being performed
on smaller stages, the production doesn’t look messy or cluttered due to some
clever choices.
Set/Lighting
Due
to it being a touring production, some of the set pieces I recall from the West End run are smaller and less technical. The
Priscilla bus is the same but due to the smaller stages of the touring venues,
it does not rotate as much though it doesn’t lose its affect. I also appreciate
that due to touring restrictions that Felicia’s aria cannot be performed on top
of the bus but the staging using a single chair centre stage - whilst funny -
feels a bit cheap and no where near as good as the original west end staging.
Costumes
The
costumes in this show are absolutely outrageous (in a good way!) and highly
memorable. They feature bold and bright patterns with various themes throughout
such as paintbrushes during ‘Colour My World’ and cakes during ‘MacArthur Park ’. The
Stand Out Performances
Duncan
James as Tick – After my bad experience of star castings in Chicago I wasn’t
getting my hopes up for Duncan James though I needn’t have worried. He
delivered a stellar performance as Tick with great vocals and emotional depth.
Through his eyes you really experience the prejudice he and his friends
experience on their journey.
Adam
Bailey as Felicia – Adam Bailey puts in an energetic and highly memorable
performance as Felicia. His line delivery hits the mark every time and provides
some of the funniest moments of the show.
Show to Show Comparisons
With
its jukebox musical style and high tempo numbers, Priscilla reminds me a lot of
Mamma Mia! It’s a typical feel good musical with a great story linking all of
the well known songs together. Priscilla is much more over the top than Mamma
Mia but with both of these musicals you leave singing the songs of the show.
Would I Recommend?
Yes
however unfortunately due to the publish date of this review; the tour has now
completed its current run across the UK .
Overall Verdict (Out of 5 Stars):
4 Stars