Pricilla Queen Of The Desert is a campy and energetic story of self-acceptance, queer love and learning that whilst not everyone will like or get you, the ones who do are the most important.
We follow three drag performers as they travel from Sydney to Alice in order to perform an important gig for Anthony’s wife. Here we get all the fun bickerings of a group of drag queens as well as a not so nice look into the stigmas and hate that comes within the role. It’s not all glitz and glamour and between all the catchy musical numbers (and there’s a lot) we can find an insight into the troubles of those within the drag scene, from transphobic comments to parental struggles and even violence.
Our cast is headed by the wonderful Greg McCafferty playing the role of Tick, a character struggling to merge his life as a drag queen with his role as a father and husband. McCafferty has a fantastic stage presence and terrific vocals, we see the character’s struggles and it is easy to empathise with him. Joining him is Dean McAvoy in the role of Felicia, Mcavoy is larger than life and really gives us the confident, campy and catty drag queen within the group. Our final lead and a personal favourite of mine is Graeme Melvin playing the role of Bernadette, our trans woman and classy older drag performer. Melvin becomes Bernadette through and through, he brings the class of an older drag queen who has realised over time that their drag persona was really just who they truly are. Their energy alone can fill the stage space, and the role is played respectfully, finding the laughs within the script rather than the over dramatising the character. Aiding them of course is the powerhouse Diva trio played by Rosie Sugrue, Felicity Thomas, Emily- Jane Lister.
There is a big ensemble to the cast, standouts for myself being Kristen Simpson who brings us comedy brilliance, sex appeal and ping pongs…. In the role of Cynthia, and also Russell Coid in the role of good guy Bob, bringing the much needed romance to the story along with a cracking accent and some lovely vocals.
Overall, for an amateur production this one is strong, they have the costumes and vocally this show is flawless. Set wise we see an impressive bus which did not fail to gather some oos and ahhs from the audience and a team of very talented performers. That being said from time to time the stage space did feel rather bare and large. For a show centred around drag queens there’s a distinct lack of sequins and glitter which the stage space would have benefited from. Whilst the costumes often matched that of other productions of the show, for drag performers who have been in the business for years alot of the costumes could have been bigger and it appeared that some performers could have used a little more rehearsal time in their heels or within musical numbers. Such a large stage space does not allow anything to go unseen, especially in dance numbers. That being said as an amateur theatre group this show is of a very high standard and it’s clear that everyone is having fun.
There is also the issue with the show material itself. This is a very music heavy jukebox musical that in act one moves from song to song almost forgetting that it has a plot or characters to explore. As none of the lyrics change from their originals this makes for rather lazy writing. Act two however does become much more plot heavy, giving us more character relationships and conflicts. This is not of course a reflection on the production team and more the chosen text itself.
Overall, this show is very fun and laced with some very very talented individuals.
Pricilla Queen Of The Desert plays at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh until 15th March, buy tickets at: https://www.capitaltheatres.com/whats-on/all-shows/priscilla-queen-of-the-desert-the-musical/2337/#
Reviewer: Beth Eltringham
Reviewed: 12th March 2025
North West End UK Rating: