REVIEW: Priscilla QUeen of the Desert at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall

'THE wheels on the bus go round and round'...and so do those bringing battered tour bus Priscilla, Queen of the Desert back to Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall.
Jason Donovan as Tick in Priscilla Queen of the Desert,Jason Donovan as Tick in Priscilla Queen of the Desert,
Jason Donovan as Tick in Priscilla Queen of the Desert,

And, as the timetable shows from its last stopover in mid-summer 2013, Australian singer/actor Jason Donovan is once again back on-board this all-singing, all-dancing comedy drama which is just the ticket to blow away any winter chills.

This stage version -giving new life to the much-lauded 1994 big-screen film starring Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp - features more than 20 dance-floor classics guaranteed to get you in the party mood from the off.

And making sure the two-and-half hour songfest gets into top gear straight away there are also more costume changes than a handful of pantos...including 200 costumes, 100 wigs, 150 pairs of shoes and a mountain of mascara.

This is more than obvious with Jason, one of the three “leading ladies,” sporting a whole wardrobe of glitzy outfits as Tick, alias drag artist Mitzi, who is gay but is also married and has a six-year-old son he has hardly seen.

So, he decides to remedy this family rift and together with his travelling partners, fellow drag queen Adam/Felicia (Robin Mill stepping up to the mark for the indisposed Adam Bailey) and ageing transsexual Bernadette (Simon Green), they hitch a ride on Priscilla and make the way from Sydney, heading 1,200 miles up country through the Outback to Alice Springs.

This proves a journey of discovery - and sometimes despair with the hostile reception they get from some they meet on the road - as well as a drive of delight to the accompaniment of such show-stoppers as I Will Survive, Girls Just Wanna Fun, Go West and Boogie Wonderland.

There are plenty of other favourites on the way with Tick, joined by Bernadette and the Three Divas, giving a new twist to MacArthur Park with a similar inventive bent being displayed by mail order bride Cynthia (Julie Yammanee) as she gyrated around to the sounds of Pop Muzik.

For further details of ticket prices, £15 to £39.50, and showtimes until this Saturday, 23rd, please contact the Royal Concert Hall box office on 0115-989-5555, or check the website at www.trch.co.uk

For other tour dates as the production cross-crosses the UK until June check the website www.priscillathemusical.com