They made a shrine to Kylie that featured on the ‘Priscilla’ bus itself, as well as Australian themed road signs, and letterforms that decorated the theatre foyer.
Directing the show was Newark College’s creative media lecturer, Justin Day, who also performed as Tick. He approached the art students to see if they would like to contribute to the set design as part of their work experience.
“I’ve seen first-hand the talent and creativity that comes from the art and design students at Newark College and so I was pleased to offer them this opportunity. They leapt at the chance to be involved and we’re delighted with the quality of work they provided for the show.
“They met the brief and really captured the spirit of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. They can be proud of what they’ve achieved and I hope they feel a sense of accomplishment seeing their work on the stage!”
The students embraced the opportunity. Jack Thomas said: “I'm really enjoying my course. As a creative person it's given me an outlet to express my ideas and build new skills that I hope to take with me through university and into the industry.
“It was great to have the chance to work on a real-life project and to put my skills into practice.”
His classmate Evie Sanger-Davies adds: “I've learned about different media and techniques I didn't know existed before, such as chemigrams and screen printing. It’s been fun working on the props for the musical.”
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a musical by Australian film director-writer Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott, featuring well-known pop songs. It tells the story of two drag queens and a transgender woman, who set off to perform a drag show in the remote Australian desert.
Find out more about the art and design courses at Newark College at the next open day on Thursday 11th November. Register to attend here.
