“Let me tell you, I’ve never seen anything like this show, and coming from someone who’s been frocking up for the best part of 20 years, that’s quite a statement!” Tina Sparkelle, aka Warren Russell, is a founding member of the Divine Divas, an act that’s been going on and off for longer than he cares to remember. “We were doing the usual gigs you do when you’re getting your act together in drag, doing nightclubs and that sort of thing, then drinking our pay at the bar or saving up for a new costume!” Tina says with a laugh. “But after a while we got to thinking that we might just be good enough to take a show on the road.  We all worshipped the great acts like Les Girls, but there was nothing like that at all going on at the time. Then Priscilla came along and rekindled the interest, and it also modernised the whole approach to shows like that, not just the big show tunes but current hits and all that sort of thing.  Anyway, about 18 months ago we started serious negotiations about a major touring show, and Divine Divas is the result.”

The show itself is a non-stop spectacular. “You name the diva, she’s there! I think there’s 28 of them altogether!” we’re assured, “Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton and Cher, and we wanted to include the next generation of divas, people like Kylie and Madonna and Celine Dion and Whitney Houston, and today’s stars like Beyonce and Shania Twain and Britney and Pink.  So we had that sorted out, then we started to get the show together, and it actually took 18 months by the time we found all the right people, got the costumes sorted, got the music sorted—and that was a huge job, because every note of the music is under rights. But as soon as we started rehearsals, we knew it would work, because we got the preparation right.”

And what a show it is.  A company of 20 including nine divas, a clutch of buff dancing boys and a top-notch tech crew, three giant screens and integrated video throughout the performance, and of course, the costumes. “I know I keep coming back to the damned costumes,” Tina says with a sigh, “but they’re just unbelievable. The requirements for the show are incredible. There’s between 25 and 30 individual numbers, every one of them separately costumed, and some of the numbers feature the whole cast. The costumes get a hell of a beating on stage, and some of them are quite heavy. I’m not one for statistics, but I do know we’ve used 300 kilos of sequins! Then there are wigs and headdresses, and more shoes than Imelda Marcos.”

Divine Divas, Norwood Concert Hall for one night only on Saturday August 1.  Book at BASS.

Pictured: Tina Sparkelle shines as Barbra Streisand

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