Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton.
11-16 March, then touring the UK until 5 January, 2014.
Picture: Paul Coltas
Bringing to the stage a musical version of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was always going to be something of a risk. Priscilla is, after all, the nickname given to a second-hand bus and Stephan Elliot’s masterpiece of cinematography was very definitely a road-movie, brimming with landscape and imagery not obviously adaptable to theatrical convention.
Needless to say, Elliot’s creation for the stage in collaboration with Scottish producer/playwright Allan Scott still focuses on the journey from Sydney to Alice Springs, but replaces iconic images of the Australian outback with showstopping flights of theatrical fancy such as a chorus of dancing man-size cupcakes set to a disco soundtrack.
Australia took the show to its heart and productions survived healthy runs in Toronto, New York, Milan and Brazil and now touring productions in both the US and the UK. The sheer magnitude of a tour featuring so many costumes, sets and naturally a full size bus has hardly daunted the producers and while Priscilla herself has undergone something of a pairing down, the show’s heart is still very much in place.
Paul Vale
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