You'll Never Know 'Till You Give It A Go

Drag queens, glitter, and Kylie— “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” is definitely an “in-yer-face” production and quite frankly I wanted it just totally buried in my face! “Priscilla” left me smiling from ear to ear and wanting every costume and a giant sparkly stiletto from which I could mime my very own arias!

Located right in Soho, The Palace Theatre provided a superb stage for a musical about three drag queens traveling across the Australian desert to perform at a casino for their own motives. After grabbing pre-theatre drinks and dinner in Soho, my boyfriend (who flew all the way across the pond to visit) and I arrived to the show and were informed that our Balcony seats had been upgraded to Dress Circle streets! So, with celebratory champagne in hand we sat down for what was to be my favorite theatre experience in London.

While the elaborate costumes and dance floor classics provided a dazzling spectacle, the drama delved in to not only just the drag community but also what it meant to be queer, or different, in a world all to willing to give you its own answers. “Priscilla” begins when Tick (Mitzi when in drag) accepts the offer from his ex-wife to perform at a casino resort in central Australia in order to reunite with the son he left behind. After recruiting fellow friends Bernadette (a newly transsexual woman) and Adam (Felicia Jollygoodfellow when in drag) the three queens set out across the Australian Outback on a tour bus christened “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” facing the challenges presented by people they encounter, among each other and with themselves.

Whilst the narrative provided a moving story that has yet to be told in the commercial theatre of London’s West End, I thought it was employed as merely a trajectory for fantastical performances. Nonetheless, however, this trajectory is uniquely innovative and carries an evocative force that could stand on its own. Thankfully, in my opinion, it does not because the combination proves to be a performance that touches audiences on multiple levels. During intermission and after the show had let out I felt a cohesive energy among a diverse audience that trickled into Soho for after-theatre drinks with a bit more bounce in their step and fabulously fierce attitude that echoed “you never know ‘till you give it a go”.    

 

Chris Witmer 
UC Berkeley