“Our Production of Priscilla was originally cast in 2019 and the tour was interrupted by the pandemic in March 2020. When we originally cast the production we did audition trans performers but despite seeing talent did not find anyone suitable for any role in our production. We believe we cast very talented actors who would tell the story of Priscilla in the best way possible. However as some of our cast were not returning to resume their roles it gave us the opportunity to expand our casting process so this time we included an open casting call for Trans performers because on other shows we have had success with open casting calls. We looked for talented performers who can Act, Dance and Sing but required no previous experience as we have always been prepared to invest our resources in talent. On all our shows we look to find diverse talented performers and look to be inclusive at all times. Every production is a journey and we hoped to find a performer in our open call who could join us on that journey.
Following our open audition process we are delighted that Allie Daniel will join the company as part of the ensemble (a role previously performed by a cis female) and acting as one of our understudies for the role of Bernadette. We chose Allie not because she was a transgender performer but because she was the best actor for the role.
We are aware that for some people casting cis performers in the role of a trans character does not sit well. We believe that inclusivity extends to all members of the company and that all roles are open to everyone. With that principle we believe we have cast the very best performers to portray all the parts in this glorious show which centres its themes about inclusion, acceptance and Tolerance.
Our job in theatre is to tell stories in the best way possible and we believe that by having more diversity and inclusivity in our shows we are better able to do that. We think that the theatre has been trying to lead the way and has made much progress in the last few years but there is always more we can do to reflect the society we live in. The last year while our industry has been shutdown has given us opportunity to reflect on how we do things and there have been many discussions on how we can improve. As Producers we are very happy with our casting process and the excellent talented performers we have engaged for our production.”
