Sydney’s Capitol Theatre is a glorious monument to excess, with its night-sky ceiling, intricate mouldings and classical statuary in alcoves lining the walls. Naturally it’s perfect for Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical, back in the city where it premiered 10 years ago. (Even the statues dressed up for opening night, sporting pink feather boas.)

Priscilla arrives back on the Australian scene after a decade of world travel that’s taken in Broadway and the West End as well as countries as far-flung as Israel, Brazil, Japan and South Africa, among many others. There’s even a cruise-ship version that’s going gang-busters. Obviously the show has universal appeal and yet it is entirely, emphatically Australian. Part of a movement, almost.

It’s impossible to think about Priscilla (both the musical and the 1994 film that spawned it) without also thinking about its near kin, 1992’s Strictly Ballroom and 1994’s Muriel’s Wedding, which opened in Australian cinemas just three weeks before Priscilla. All three are a hymn to raucous humour, retina-burning colours and flamboyant personalities. They’re big and messy and far from perfect but that’s part of the charm. Rough edges are good. They offset the sweetness and add a homespun feel to pieces that flirt...