REVIEW: Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Until Saturday 11 April 2026

The troublesome bus Priscilla has parked up on Grey Street this week as the popular musical based upon the 1994 Australian road comedy film rolls into town. The show continues to pack in large crowds 20 years after its Sydney debut. It is a story that is much about personal exploration and discovery as it is a classic tale about a journey. 

Opening night was as much about the understudies, as it was delays, as two great performances were put in and you'd not have known that the alternates was appearing on stage if you had not been told. The first was Sario Soloman who threw themselves into the role of Miss Understanding, the host at a club in Sydney, and nails their big number What's Love Got to Do With It? This also involved breaking the third wall like a pantomime, which is unusual for a musical.

We were off to a good start as we were introduced to fellow drag queen Tick, who performs as Mitzi Mitosis, and they're not having a good night as his estranged wife Marion (Billie Hardy) calls. Kevin Clifton shows his versatility as the father who had not seen his son for 9 years and is offered the opportunity, to not only meet up with them, but to also put on a show at the casino that his wife works at. The issue is that the casino is in Alice Springs, which is just under 3000km away and it will take a few days to get there. He encourages Bernadette (Adèle Anderson) to come out of retirement and have a comeback show. Young Adam, performed by the evening's other alternate Fionan O'Carroll, completed the troupe - a man from a younger generation, he would highlight the difference in approaches to performance.

The three all have a target that they want to accomplish in the trip. Adam, whose stage name is Felicia Jollygoodfellow, wants to appear in full drag regalia, on Ayers Rock/Uluru to perform some hits of Kylie Minogue. Meanwhile Bernadette is getting over the recent death of her husband and wondering if they have what it takes to appear on stage again.

Adam raises the funds from his mother to buy a bus and they name it Priscilla before heading west. The journey is not without incident as the performers have to make stops along the way and the locals react to their presence. The story also looks at how the different personalities on board Priscilla interact with one another. One aspect that is constant throughout the tale are the fabulous lines Adèle Anderson delivers as the sharp witted and devastating Bernadette. Much of the comedy comes from the perfectly timed put downs.

When Priscilla breaks down Bob appears to help fix it. Peter Duncan appears as the gentleman who had seen Bernadette's group appear previously and he remains a fan. Duncan's performance quickly gets the audience onside despite the antics of his wife Cynthia (Isabella Glanznig Santos).

This is a musical in which the main characters tend to mime the songs as part of their routine. Thus we need some actual singers to perform and hence we have three Divas that appear from time to time.  Leah Vassell, Bernadette Bangura and Jessie May do a brilliant job at delivering the big hits and supporting the action on stage. They have a great set of pipes and are able to deliver the big hits with gusto. There is also a great ensemble that not just dance, they have to fill in as the locals as the bus stops, occasionally giving Priscilla a push around the stage.

Now Priscilla has been on the road for over a decade, and there is sometimes a tendency to shrink the production values when a show has been around a while. However, this production is still carrying a seven piece live band, under musical director Richard Atkinson, which makes a massive positive difference to the energy of the show. 

The only part of the show that didn't sit right with me was when Tick's son Benji finally appeared and he wanted to play with his father. Now I get that he lives at a casino, but the idea that his idea of play was on the bandits rather than with children's toys/games just didn't feel right. This is a shame as the young actor did a fine job for the brief time that they were on stage.

Priscilla is a feel good show that is not afraid to hold a mirror up to society and reflect the attitudes that some people have towards their fellow humans. There is a warmth between the characters as they muddle through the road trip even though they often clash with one another. Whilst it is a jukebox musical, the choice of songs fit in well with both the exposition and feel of the show. The costumes (Vicky Gill) are as stunning as the cast - I did laugh when the lady next to me purred with approval about Fionan O'Carroll's arms at the interval! 

I do like a feel good story. I have seen Priscilla a few times over the years and I would happily see it again.

Review: Stephen Oliver

Photos: Johan Persson

Tickets:

Tickets are available from the Theatre Royal box office and website: https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/whats-on/priscilla/

Preview: The Detective Dog at Gala Durham

The Detective Dog 

Gala Durham 

Saturday 18 – Sunday 19 April 2026

Julia Donaldson's best-selling picture book The Detective Dog turns ten this year, and Tiny and Tall Productions are marking the occasion with a joyful stage adaptation specially created for Deaf and hard of hearing families, though one that promises to delight audiences of every age and every background.

The show follows Nell, a remarkable dog with an extraordinary sense of smell and a deep love of stories. Brought vividly to life through puppetry, original music and, in a wonderful touch, an interactive pre-show scent activity, Nell puts her investigative nose to work when a book mysteriously vanishes from her owner Peter's school. It is a warm, funny and gently thrilling adventure for anyone aged three and upwards.

Tiny and Tall Productions collaborate with leading Deaf artists to ensure the show is fully accessible, incorporating BSL and creative captions as an integral part of the staging rather than an afterthought. As artistic director Tessa Bide puts it, the company aims to raise the bar for accessibility in children's theatre and to welcome in audiences who have previously been excluded from it. On the evidence of the reception the show received when it toured last year, they are doing exactly that.

Cast and Creatives

The production is written by Julia Donaldson CBE (The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom) from her book illustrated by Sara Ogilvie, and is directed by Peta Maurice, whose previous work includes national tours of The Gruffalo, the Giant and the Mermaid. The design is by Katie Sykes and Ruby Brown, with original music by Jack Drewry, lighting by Joe Price, and video design and creative captions by Christopher Harrison. Lynn Stewart-Taylor serves as BSL Director, with access consultancy from Jonny Cotsen. The puppets are designed by Tessa Bide, who also created the piece as the company's Artistic Director. The cast features Megan Brooks as Peter/Puppeteer, Eleanor Pead as Child/Puppeteer/Librarian, and Amy Murray as Child/Ms Jones/Ted.

Photos: Paul Blakemore

Tickets

The Detective Dog plays at Gala Durham, 1 Millennium Place, Durham DH1 1WA on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 April 2026. Tickets are available from the Gala Durham website: https://galadurham.co.uk/galapost/the-detective-dog/

Running time: 1 hour. Recommended age guidance: 3+.

REVIEW: Hamlet at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Hamlet

Newcastle Theatre Royal 

Until Saturday 4 April 2026 and touring

Arguably Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet has been subject to endless reinterpretations and imaginative stagings. Rupert Goold’s trimmed-down production for the RSC is set over one night on a royal yacht in 1912, deliberately evoking the Titanic. This brings pros and cons for the plot but delivers richly in terms of atmosphere.

The story of a wronged prince hindered from exacting his vengeance against the uncle who murdered his father and married his mother, by his own personality, runs uncut to four hours. With dramaturg Rebecca Latham, Goold has trimmed this to a spare two and a half hours. The production also incorporates some restructuring of scenes and adaptation of dialogue to fit the maritime setting.

First, one should consider whether this movement of the action from its original Elsinore castle aids or hampers the play. In fact, it is not such a stretch. The castle itself is at the edge of a narrow stretch of land overlooking the sea and this pervades the atmosphere throughout. The influence of the sea obviously impacts even more on the action of this production, on its highly raked, pointed stage, with a ceiling that inclines down, rising and falling as befits the scene. For the first half, in particular, this works extremely well, supplemented by video screens that show the constantly moving waves. In this production, incidentally, the interval is placed immediately after the ‘To be or not to be’ speech.

We see Hamlet informed by his father’s ghost of his uncle Claudius’ treachery, and pressed by him to revenge his death. What follows leads one to wonder whether he has picked the right man for the job. Morally prudish, deeply sensitive and resolutely incapable of accepting human frailty in himself or in others, Hamlet is effectively paralysed. He chooses to feign madness as a way of gathering information and forming his plans for revenge whilst seeming less of a threat to his uncle. Ultimately, a troop of actors arrives, giving him the idea of unmasking his uncle through mounting a play that enacts his treachery.

After thus angering Claudius and mistakenly killing Polonius, the king’s adviser and the father of his long-suffering girlfriend, Ophelia, he is despatched to England with some supposed friends, who actually carry instructions for Hamlet to be murdered. He outwits his companions and returns to confront Claudius thereupon discovering Ophelia has killed herself, driven mad by her father’s death and Hamlet’s unkind treatment. Claudius has convinced Polonius’ aggrieved son, Laertes, to challenge Hamlet to a duel in which Laertes will use a sword with a poisoned blade. With this and a cup of poisoned wine, the scene is set for the carnage of the finale, where the bodies pile up like a busy day in an abbatoir.

This production is heavily centred on the eponymous hero, which can tend to lessen the impact of other characters, particularly Claudius. Nevertheless, Raymond Coulthard delivers a nuanced performance as an ambitious but compassionate statesman, who carries guilt for his actions. As his conflicted wife, Poppy Miller also convinces as a delicately womanly Gertrude, her warmth contrasted to Hamlet’s sexual repression. Georgia-Mae Meyers does an excellent job as Ophelia, one of the most thankless roles in Shakespeare. She brings strength and nobility alongside her vulnerability, and her descent into madness evokes considerable sympathy.

The supporting players also acquit themselves admirably, particularly Richard Cant’s fussy, well-meaning Polonius, bringing humour without undermining the character’s elements of gravitas. Also, Ian Hughes is a charismatic Player King, well-matched to CJ Johnson’s Player Queen who brings a pleasing voice and presence to the highly effective, Kabuki-style, play within a play.

Which brings us to Hamlet, in the form of Ralph Davis. The challenges of this role should not be underestimated and he is generally effective in conveying the Prince’s torment, as well as his arrogance, his inflexibility and his resultant cruelty to Ophelia and Gertrude. We also see occasional flashes of the man he was, mainly in his interaction with the players, when he seems to come to life for the first time. He is resolutely earthbound, however, rather than cerebral and at times, his halting delivery and some issues with diction, despite his apparently wearing a microphone, undermine his efforts to fully illuminate the text. Some of the cuts to the iconic speeches also seem unhelpful. Nevertheless, he engages throughout and his portrayal is always believable.

The production overall is impressively staged and innovative, whilst remaining true to the spirit of the text, although the anachronistic red LED clocks that pronounce the time periodically seem a jarring and unhelpful intrusion, especially since the Titanic references do not reach any culmination. Also, the always problematic final scene where some of the bodies here are unceremoniously plunged into a hole in the deck, and it is hard to make out just who has killed whom, was ultimately unsatisfying. Incidentally, there is no arrival of Fortinbras from England to provide a resolution of sorts. The performance ends with Hamlet’s passing and a brief, familiar word from Colin Ryan’s solidly-played Horatio.

Despite any quibbles, however, this staging remains well worth seeing and a worthy addition to the canon of past productions of this iconic play. 

Review: Jonathan Cash

Photos: Marc Brenner

Tickets:

Tickets are available from the Theatre Royal website: https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/whats-on/rsc-hamlet/