In a story of flamboyancy, truth and love – Manchester is now fierce and fabulous!
Manchester’s Palace Theatre is currently playing host to the Queens from ‘across the pond’ in ‘Priscilla Queen of The Desert: The Musical’. Having never seen this production but knowing the storyline in principle, I was expecting bright colours, flamboyant costumes and an energetic night – and I was not disappointed.
Priscilla follows the story of the Drag Queens, travelling through rural Australia in a beaten bus and in doing so, finding themselves in a story of love, acceptance and joy. Not without its sincere moments and none of them missed by any account. This truly was an eye opener and a very enjoyable piece of pro theatre.
This particular production was spear headed by Kevin Clifton as ‘Tick/Mitzi’ and I was great to see such a strong performance. The last time I reviewed a show with Clifton in it, it was ‘2:22 A Ghost Story’; so, a very dramatic shift in character, but this really showed the scope of talent that Kevin Clifton possesses. His portrayal of Tick was everything it needed to be. The story arc of being true to yourself and all you have to love in this world is not an easy one, but he nailed it – Kevin Clifton truly is a gifted performer.
He was supported by two stellar performances too. Adele Anderson and Nick Hayes playing Bernadette and Felicia respectively completed the power trio but brought everything needed to make the dynamic work. Adele brought the dry humour, but soft side required to the role of Bernadette and she had some of the funniest one liners I’ve ever seen delivered in a musical, it was real top-drawer stuff. This was matched by one of the most confident and sassiest drag performances I’ve ever seen in Hayes. The numbers, the energy and the level of comedic timing was fabulous, but the real performance from these two came out in the area of importance of the story. With Felicia being beaten up for who she is. That whole sequence was perfect and exactly what it needed to be, showing the ugly side of the world in a very poignant way and making a very powerful point and still being able to make the audience smile by the end. Really lovely stuff.
A real hat tip also, to the 3 divas! Are you available for bookings? Wow. Leah Vassell, Bernadette Bangura, Jessie May brought every number to life – I’ve never heard so many songs in a jukebox musical belted out in the way these three girls did and they were simply wonderful. I could listen to them all day and I hope I hear them sing again at some point.
Priscilla can sometimes divide opinion but for me, it’s perfect entertainment for a night out and it’s impossible to not sit and enjoy yourself watching this performance.
Priscilla is only in Manchester for a few more performances so don’t miss out and get there while you can!
