Edinburgh Playhouse – until 9 November 2019
Reviewed by Manetta Anderson-McIntosh
5*****
Hilariously funny yet poignant production.
For anyone who remembers the movie this was a cult classic, probably a movie ahead of its time. So to sit here 25 years later watching this amazing production on stage, it is astounding to think that the issues being addressed are as relevant today as they were then.
Ian Talbot directs this story of 3 drag queens, Bernadette (Miles Western), a transgender woman who has been recently widowed – it would seem that dying your hair is quite dangerous. Felicia/Adam (Nick Hayes) – a bit of an obnoxious party-boy and Mitzi (Joe McFadden) who has a secret wife and son, who decide to travel from Sidney to Alice Springs for a gig. Priscilla is the not so trusty bus they use as a mode of transport and is the backdrop for most of their shenanigans. Mitzi, or Tick in his male form, is currently working as a drag queen in Sydney, the opening scenes are hosted by Miss Understanding played by Kevin Yates who breaks us in gently with some saucy-postcard style comic interaction with the audience. Tick is then offered a chance to perform at his wife’s casino and also meet his 6-year-old son for the first time, let the journey commence.
The majority of the show takes place on a bus during a 2000-mile journey across Australia, ‘how did they manage to replicate that’? I hear you ask. Well, relatively easily it would turn out. The bus was cleverly designed to be moved into segments which could transform the stage from a desert scene to a bar scene with a couple of twists and turns. One of the producers of the show is none other than Jason Donovan and there is a cheeky nod to his early acting career when Tick and Adam are wearing Charlene and Scott masks while travelling through the desert. The show is peppered with some great disco/pop tunes from the late 70’s early 80’s, some sung by the main characters and some by the delightfully entertaining Divas. I was really surprised by how good Joe McFadden was at singing, all of the main characters had really strong voices.
If you haven’t seen the film and are expecting hilarity from start to finish, then you need to be warned, it’s not all fun and games. As you could expect, the outback of Australia is not for the faint hearted, and during some of the stops they meet some unsavoury characters, one scene in particular was very sensitively dealt with compared to how it was portrayed in the movie. Adam goes out drunk, high and dressed as a woman to socialise with the guys in the bar, once they find out he is male he is violently attacked. There was a very different atmosphere in the theatre during this scene as you would expect, despite the fight being conducted in a form of dance. It really hit home to see that although this was 25 years ago, we are no further forward as a human race, we might be more socially and legally accepting of same sex couples, but the LGBTQ+ community live in fear of situations like this on a daily basis. A big well done to director, choreographer and dancers on this one.
Bernadette, Adam and Tick do make some amazing friends on the way too. How could I not mention Bob (Daniel Fletcher) and his talented wife Cynthia (Jacqui Sanchez). Bob saves the day when Priscilla breaks down, he takes the girls back to the pub and encourages them to do a show. His wife Cynthia is super excited about this and see’s it as an opportunity to jumpstart her performing days, what she can’t do with a ping-pong ball is not worth knowing. The costumes where very flamboyant as you would expect, there was a good attempt to compete with the movie but as the movie won an Oscar for its costume design there was a large shoe to fill. You will laugh, you will cry but most of all you will dance. Fantastic show.