Priscilla Queen of the Desert at Wolverhampton Grand plus all your other am dram news

This is a brave choice of show for an amateur group, as it’s technically demanding as well as vocally challenging

Based on the Oscar winning movie of the same name, which went on to become a highly successful stage show, Priscilla is a wonderfully uplifting tale of acceptance, love and friendship.

It follows the adventures of Tick, Bernadette and Adam, three gloriously gay men who trundle across the Australian outback to visit Tick’s ex-wife and to reacquaint Tick with his young son. Along the way, they learn plenty about each other.

In this production, local am dram performers Tye Harris appears as Tick, John Wetherall as Bernadette and Zac Hollinshead as Adam, or Felicia Jolly Good Fellow as he is also affectionately known. Drag Queen names never cease to make me laugh.

The guys are supported by three divas, Tasheka Coe, Sarah Moors and Niamh Allen who will be descending like three singing angels, belting their way through disco tunes galore, as well as Elliott Mann as Miss Understanding (here we go again) and Simon Pugh as Bob.

The score for the show is nothing short of extravagant and It’s Raining Men, Don’t Leave Me This Way, Go West, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Hot Stuff, Boogie Wonderland and the anthem I Will Survive to name but a few. What a line up!

The jokes are completely outrageous, the characters larger than life and the costumes flamboyant, glitzy and glamourous. Think, sequins, spangles and showbiz, not to mention feathers, fluff and femme fatals.

Oh, and Priscilla contains the funniest funeral scene I think I’ve ever seen in a show.

l It’s a visual and vocal delight, so grab your tickets at www.grandtheatre.co.uk or call 01902 429212.

In complete contrast, the Year 13 acting class students from Birmingham Ormiston Academy will be presenting The Last Days of Judas Iscariot from April 24-24, at the Old Rep Theatre in the city.

This dramatic offering is the story of a court case over the ultimate fate of Judas Iscariot. By using flashbacks to his childhood it depicts the experiences which lead to the ultimate betrayal, with lawyers who call witnesses including Mother Teresa, Caiaphas, Saint Monica, Sigmund Freud, and even the devil himself.

Serious stuff, but I know it will be tackled meticulously by these talented young performers.

The group continue on April 26-27 with the classic tale by William Golding, Lord of the Flies.

l For tickets visit www.oldreptheatre.co.uk and please note that performances commence at 7pm.Over in Shropshire, Llanymynech Amateur Dramatic Society is presenting three one-act plays from April 20-21.

They begin with The House on Peachey Street, followed by Red Dress Manor and The Last Cigarette and finally Is It Something I Said?

l They are all short and sweet but entertaining, so for tickets visit www.ladstheatre.co.uk, call 01691 830558 or call into The Herbarium in Oswestry.

Closer to home, the NODA award winning Charlemont Dramatic Society will be presenting their spring production from May 2-5, Salt of the Earth by John Godber, at Gayton Road Community Centre in West Bromwich.

Set in a mining village in Yorkshire, this play follows the fortunes of two sisters, Annie and May Parker and families over a 40-year period from the late 1940s to the 1980s.

This proves a challenge for the performers, as they have to age along with the storyline as well as mastering an authentic Yorkshire accent. Add to that ballroom dancing too and they are pretty tough roles to play. That said, there’s plenty of earthy, gritty drama but also some amusing moments. After all northerners are known for their dry sense of humour, aren’t they? Danielle Millard appears as May, with Lucy Styles and Annie and Max Darknell as May’s son Paul.The group would also like to say goodbye and good luck to their director of 10 years, Anthony Mason-Hyde, as he is moving to Edinburgh to begin a new career. So, all the very best Anthony and a big thank you from your friends at CADS, they will miss you.

Spring is in the air and Dudley Choral Society is determined to make the best of it by presenting a concert on April 28 at St. Mark’s Church in Pensnett.

The programme will include Vivaldi’s Gloria and a new work to the society entitled Eternal Light by Howard Goodhall. This is a modern requiem for the living, addressing their suffering and endurance whilst focussing on the consequences of interrupted lives.

l For tickets priced at just £8 each, visit www.dudleychoralsociety.co.uk

Finally, many congratulations to everyone who won NODA Awards at the ceremony at Stourbridge Town Hall last weekend.

l That’s all for now. Keep those emails and quality colour photos coming to a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk, call me on 01902 319662 or follow me on Twitter @AlisonNorton