⭐️⭐️⭐️
Palace Theatre - Manchester
‘KEV CLIFTON IS A QUADRUPLE THREAT: SING, DANCE, ACT ….& CAMPERY !’
‘WE LOVE THE NIGHT LIFE. WE LOVE TO BOOGIE…. BUT WE WANTED MORE!’
Last night we popped over to the Manchester Palace Theatre to experience their new Stage Door Bar & PRISCILLA Press Night.
Don’t know the Priscilla story? If not - have you been hiding under (AYERS) rock?!
Tick in a drag bar - The Cock-A-Too Club based in Sydney gets a call from his wife in a casino in Alice Springs. A crazy journey across Australia begins. His son wants to meet him after x9 years. A bus full of campery (that is meant to look like Ru Paul’s work room) is the vehicle to transport them on their merry way……
The glitterati were on hand with feather boas, 6” heels, rhinestones and bejewellery as far as the eye could see…. & that was just the audience! There was that rare unique buzz of anticipation for the evening ahead.
We have seen various incarnations of this tale. Let’s start with the iconic 1994 film with legendary campness provided by Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce & Hugo Weaving. As a fledgling gay teenager this film along with Jonathan Harvey Beautiful Thing were x2 stand out seminal moments. We are eagerly waiting for the follow up film later this year and Terence’s final performance.
Fast forward to the London west end production that opened on March 10th 2009 for over x2 years with Jason Donovan as Tick. A £1,000,000 l-e-d Priscilla bus that was actually incredible. It had aboriginal graphics and light up paint brushes! STUN-NING. There’s been several UK & Ireland tours over the past x30 years that delight new generations to this tale. With that in mind - every performer that now steps into the high heels of Bernadette, Tick & Felicia have a grand responsibility on those padded shoulders!
Did this current cast deliver? Should you pay good £ to catch this outback bus ride across Australia to Alice Springs? Let’s explore…….
KEVIN CLIFTON - We aren’t joking when we say this guy is talented. Seen his performances in JAMIE, STRICTLY BALLROOM & on STRICTLY. He’s carving a great career on stage - one hot foot at a time! Was he THE BEST Tick we have seen - 100%. He brings a quadruple threat - he can sing, dance, act… & can add Campery to his ever growing CV. The scene with Benjy (HARPER ETIENNE) in the casino tugs at the heart strings through an Elvis dual sing-off & it’s worth noting that it’s the 1st time we have felt like we were in an actual casino through some new staging from ANDREW EXETER stage design. While touching on the staging which we are always keen to comment on… This set did not transport us to the Aussie out-back. The projections on 50% of the space were lack lustre. For the heavily billed ‘30th Anniversary Tour’ - could this have been an L-E-D wrap around instead? Possibly the dreary set was intentional so that the characters and the costumes shine brighter?! Having said that…. there may be 1,000,000 sequins with 100 costume changes…. brought to the stage by VICKY GILL - but it’s just not quite up to the mark at all. We noted Leigh Bowery styling references but even this felt forced. Just not a coherent costume display sadly. Bring back the original bus and save £ on the sequins next time.
NICK HAYES’S - FELICIA is EVERYTHING! He was in the same role for the 2020-2022 Priscilla. We interviewed him in the Ice Bar and he says that this role is something he’d wanted to do for many years. It’s not hard to see why he’s reprising this queen of queens! What a joy.
Step forward ex Blue Peter presenter PETER DUNCAN (dares) as BOB/Preacher. Were we surprised with this casting. You bet. Did he deliver as mechanic and female impersonator fan - definately. Easy the best Bob we’ve seen over the years. His accent was spot on.
ADELE ANDERSON - Bernadette we have adored for 20+ years from the touring Cabaret troupe - Fascinating Aida. *(check their YouTube videos for a lol good time!). This performer is always giving their all. On press night we were sadly disappointed. It pains me to write this - but during the interval our fellow reviewers were all saying the same thing - Adele is struggling to dance and to actually keep up with the surrounding company. The viper-tongued character of Bernadette is meant to be the best in the business having performed as a ‘les girls’(1963-1994) in Aussie’s female impersonating hay day. She needs to be THE BEST. She famously says ‘IT’S THE ONLY BANG YOUR’E EVER GUNNA’ GET!’ - We need more ‘Bangs’ for our bucks for a 30th Anniversary Celebration Tour.
They say it takes a village to bring up a baby… or to put on a show of this scale…. & that’s true. The ensemble are working their socks off (or tassels!) - to sell these songs. They are giving 150% which is great to see. They’ve got a hunger for performing and that radiates through the sequins & feathers. Quick shout out to SARIO SOLOMON - Jimmy/Ensemble that we 1st saw in LET IT SHINE - The take that musical THE BAND at the opera house x7 years ago. He’s working his way through all our fave musicals and hope to see him in a leading role in the future.
To re-cap - PRISCILLA has so much energy it’s infectious. There’s a scene with ping pong balls that would give Marty Supreme a run for his money! Take a ride with this motley crew.
Add comment
Comments