ON THEROAD:Priscilla
Below: Leading ladies — Tick/Mitzi, played by Jason Donovan, Bernadette (Tony Sheldon) and Adam/Felicia (Oliver Thornton). Right: Automation guru Greg ‘Plod’ Gowans.
a hell of a long run-up and now animals... but how about custom-
that I’m the person who signs manufactured vehicles? “Well,
the cheques it’s a very expensive Priscilla can be a temperamental
process. But I understand it — we old cow!” laughed McQuinn.
now live in the age of theatre “She’s almost anthropomorphic
spectacle with all the technology — a huge piece of invented kit
that goes with it. with a whole bunch of interrelated
“The production standards of technical disciplines jammed into
today’s big musicals have taken a her.
quantum leap in the last 10 years “Inevitably, because of the
or so, and audiences now expect nature of our business, our
them. Cardboard flats no longer extended preview period is
cut it!” designed to identify exactly which
Technology is indeed king elements are likely to go wrong
on Priscilla ... or should that be and then troubleshoot accordingly.
queen? The bus is a nine tonne, “You can plan this stuff until
fully self-contained vehicle built you’re blue in the face but you
from scratch by Stage One, the end up learning about something
Yorkshire-based company that like Priscilla as you progress in
worked alongside the producers rehearsals.”
and scenic designer Brian Thomson How did McQuinn and his team
and lighting designer Nick settle on the concept of a real bus
Schlieper for over a year to meet in the first place? “It wasn’t easy.
the show’s scenic and automation I mean, how do you present the
requirements. great Australian outback on stage?
The stage was specially And we spent 18 months trying to
reinforced by Stage One to safely deal with how to present Priscilla.
accommodate the weight of “The minute you put a bus
Priscilla — a stunningly versatile on stage that’s big enough to
contraption that opens up on one accommodate five or six dancing
side to reveal an over–the-top people, you know it’s got to be of
boudoir, complete with leopard a size that’ll eat up pretty much all
print décor and bamboo curtains! the performance area.
As the old saying goes, one “We considered all kinds of
should never work with children or ideas including video and a neon
34 • TPiMAY 09
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