I loved the movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It was such a celebration of humanity, family and self-expression. The creative explosion of Sydney’s Queer culture descending upon outback Australia said more about the Lucky Country and it’s character than any other Ozzie film.
The musical had lot’s to live up to, but Christ in full drag, it delivers.
It’s a dazzle of gay anthems, clever staging, great actors and soul. The juxtaposition of queer culture and outback Australia is still powerful and works brilliantly on stage. The performances are wonderful, the singing and dancing top notch and the speed with which they must be changing costumes back stage is close to a magic act in itself.
That bloke from Neighbours is even in it.
The final song is a wonderful salute to all that is Australian and there are not many times that I can recall when the entire Civic gives a standing ovation.
The musical is as much a celebration of the individual, family and humanity as the movie – you walk away with that deeper understanding of those who dare to be different and does as much to erode homophobia as your average Pride festival.
Which leaves me with one puzzle. For a country that can produce a movie and musical as wonderful as this, that champions Sydney as the Gay capital of the South Pacific, how and why on Earth is Australia still so far behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to gay marriage?
That sad fact is a reminder of why so many more people need to see the musical.
4 stars
Currently running at the Civic in Auckland – book now as this will sell out
