Priscilla Queen of the Desert review, Mayflower Theatre

Bursting with innuendo and featuring a dazzling array of eye-popping costumes, the latest version of Priscilla to tour to Southampton has turned the sparkle and sass up a notch even on its glitzy predecessors.

With a soundtrack straight out of G-A-Y, think It's Raining Men, Hot Stuff and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, the orchestra had the audience in raucous mood from the very start.

Based on the 1994 cult movie of (nearly) the same name, the show sees three quarrelling friends, a trans woman and two drag queens, board a battered old bus for a life-changing road trip from Sydney to Alice Springs.

There's plenty of humour and heart along the way. They endure all manner of unexpected obstacles, emotional and mechanical breakdowns, homophobic abuse and a mail order bride who is especially skilful with a ping pong ball.

But, while the trio find themselves on a journey of self-discovery in the Australian outback, the whole point of the road trip gets lost somewhat. The fact that Tick / Mitzi (Edwin Ray) is travelling thousands of miles to meet his son for the first time becomes an afterthought shoehorned into a five minute slot between the drag show to end all drag shows and a disco filled finale.

Set transitions and costume changes whizz by in this delirious and delightful production which combines sharp one liners with terrifically tight choreography.

As seems to be a rather regular occurrence since its post-Covid reopening, Mayflower Theatre was once again rocking with a party atmosphere which saw almost the entire audience on their feet by the end of the opening night.

Flamboyant and fun, buckle up and enjoy one seriously rowdy road trip.

Priscilla runs until Saturday (October 9). Tickets: 023 8071 1811 or mayflower.org.uk