Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Tour – Liverpool)

A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do: travelling across the Australian Outback to see his son… and put on a bit of a show with two other drag queens. All three naturally have their own journey to make and it’s a shame the dialogue is not crystal clear throughout, although pithiness is balanced with poignance, particularly in the father and son reunion.

Jason Donovan puts in an exuberant turn as Tick/Mitzi, matched by Graham Weaver’s flighty Felicia, who even soars into an operatic aria, gorgeously assisted by the three Divas. Conversely, one of them, Ellie Leah, is something completely different in a bar scene, as the unreconstructed Shirley, while mechanic Bob, altogether more down to earth, is in the capable hands of Giles Watling.

Mitzi and Felicia are occasionally outshone by the stately Bernadette, for whom it is not just a matter of simply dressing up. Alan Hunter admirably reverses a trend: all sweetness and light on the surface but if somewhat vulnerable underneath, a pretty tough nut all the same. Meanwhile, Regan Shepherd takes on the former’s role of Miss Understanding to deliver a devastatingly good Tina Turner impersonation. As for Frances Mayli McCann’s Cynthia, stealing the show from Les Girls at Woop Woop, tho largely incomprehensible, this goes down a storm, actions definitely speaking louder than words.

The costumes are eye-catching, dance routines dazzling, songs delivering the very best of disco, and all as spectacular as the staging, especially, of course, Priscilla herself.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert is a fantastic extravaganza which went down a storm to an ecstatic reception from the audience.

– Carole Baldock