Get Your Wigle On.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
Wednesday 28th February – Saturday 2nd March
Matinee Saturday 2.30pm.
If you have nothing to do over this weekend try and grab your last opportunity to see this hilarious riot of colour from Shrewsbury’s very own , Get Your Wigle On Theatre Company presenting the awesome, antipodean, adventure. Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Camper than a row of tents in Brighton, this is a slightly risqué but great fun story of three drag queens covering the width of Australia so one of them can connect with his son.
The story is ok, but it really isn’t the most important thing. The choreography, the music, and directorship turned this alright show into a great one. Constantly telling oneself they can’t just be Shrewsbury people having fun. They are so good, they work so hard, and they are so professional how can this be so? But be it so it is the three principals Ross Wigley, Will Evans, and Mike Jenkinson were superb in their roles. As well as having to sing and dance expertly at all times they also had time to really emerge into character; never once did the mask slip, so with Australian accents intact the three players headed this spectacular show in a way that it wasn’t just a show it was an all guns blazing, best foot forward kind of show and the audience had no option but to be deeply impressed with the talent of this troupe.
;The set was clever, Priscilla is the camper van/bus the three use to cross the Australian outback and deserts. So all the stage really called for a bus with one side solid and the other side dissected. It was revolved ensuring the cross section side could be see so that any action on board the bus was dealt with easily by this little bit of tidy kit. It was the Costume and colour that outshone any hardware and the show was dressed perfectly even right up to the fake kangaroos emu’s and possums in the grand finale. Superbly dressed.
Lighting, we come to expect the best from this troupe and one wasn’t disappointed using several colours and follow spots and mood lighting; it was expertly designed and the sound/lighting crew were spot on the ball, not a single cue was missed or botched. That is a tough job, to call a show of this size can be a big responsibility. It was in good hands tonight.
The three Divas that opened the show with “it’s raining men,” were just great such good voices and sweet harmonies; again one asks how can this be an amateur show? This really is top drawer stuff. Beautiful musical performances throughout. Will Evans' singing was exquisite and he found the mood and tempo every time, spot on. Great to see.
On the subject of music Chris Lewis and his band played all the music and they sounded fantastic. One just loves a show with live music, it’s what the orchestra pit is for and it’s great seeing it being used to such great effect.
In summary the Wigles have done it again this is a great fun show presented in a great fun way. It is a big show but again GTWO Theatre company proves nothing is too big for them. Theatrical genius.
This is a Five Star Review.
Sofia Lewis
Sofia is a successful playwright living in Shrewsbury. After graduating from Wolverhampton University in theatre. Sofia went on to become an actor and film maker. Her first play was published in 2015 and her plays have been seen all around the world. She is also the instigator of the popular concerts, The Sound Of Shrewsbury Folk. She has been writing with loveshrewsbury for 13 years and loves Theatre Severn and all she sees there.
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