BONUS: Beautiful or Tragic - The Untold Saga of 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'

An emotional deep dive into the untold history of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, a terrible, racist and transphobic film. Rabia looks at the lives of the three drag queens and one trans woman that it was based on (Cindy Pastel, Strykermeyer, Lady Bump and Carlotta) and the erratic behavour/Shakespearean motivations of troubled writer/director Stephan Elliott. Deep research uncovers a complex story with no clear heroes or villains - a tale as beautiful as it is tragic.

This is a bonus episode that originally appeared on Totally Trans.

Source notes for this episode:

WATCH "LADIES PLEASE" ON YOUTUBE HERE

• "Fact sheet: The sorry rock phenomenon", Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park,
• "I Love the Nightlife" rehearsal footage with Cindy Pastel, Strykermeyer and Lady Bump – shot on camcorder, outtake from Ladies Please
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert DVD commentary track by Stephan Elliott
• Al Clark – Making Priscilla (1995)
• Birth of a Queen documentary on Priscilla DVD
• Footage of Priscilla premiere aftermath at Cannes 1994 including Stephan introducing "the people it was based on"
• "'Priscilla' lets director Elliott indulge in his loves for disco and high camp", Steve Murray, The Atlanta Journal, 26 August 1994
• "The drag queens behind Priscilla", Wendy Tuohy, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 1995
• Interview with Carlotta from Stations of the X, 1963
• Clip of Carlotta's appearance on Number 96, 1976
• "Priscilla party boat, Sydney Harbour, Australia Day 2007" video
• Damien W. Riggs – Priscilla, (white) queen of the desert (2006)
• Stephan Elliott Q&A at Austrian Film Museum, 2019
• "The real life Priscilla Queen of the Desert", 60 Minutes Australia
• "Putting Stamp on role", Robert W. Butler, Syracuse-Herald Journal, 28 September 1994
• Between a Frock and a Hard Place (2015)