Magic Bus

Heads north:

When the bus known to millions of Australian filmgoers as Priscilla first appeared last year at the Lyric Theatre for the world premiere of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical, the audience let out a cheer of recognition.

Next year the musical will leave Sydney and the Australian desert far behind when it makes its West End debut as the first home-grown Australian production to open in London.

Due to open late next year, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical will be co-produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group, and the producer of the Australian show, Liz Koops.

Koops said the musical would stay true to the Australian script for its northern hemisphere debut. The company was also in talks for a tour of the United States in 2009.