Priscilla Cancelled on Us... She's such a bitch!
Milano Bakehouse
10 Thompson Street, Bowen Hills, Brisbane, QLD 4006
Ph: (07) 3620 4202
Web: Milano Bakehouse
'Out at Coffee' on
12th October 2025
“I’ve had a text to say tonight’s performance is cancelled… is that true?”
“Yes, we’re so sorry! The lead actor can’t perform tonight, and his understudy’s gone down with covid!”
The box office operator was clearly embarrassed! Priscilla may be the ‘Queen of the Desert’, but this morning she’d created havoc for this poor guy. My call being one of many he must have dealt with from confused patrons.
My irritation melted away at the genuine regret etched in his voice! Hell, it wasn’t his fault! Situations happen outside everyone's control sometimes, and he’d be unaware we’d cancelled our ‘Out at Coffee’ catchup this morning, deciding to swap our weekly caffeine fix for what we hoped would be a pre-show vino.
All I could say next was, “Wow… that’s a shame!” As he interjected in a deep, extended, theatrical voice; “it’s been a complete and utter mess…… quite fraaanklyyy!”
We’d all been looking forward to an evening of fun entertainment, and I hung on the end of the phone disappointed, as the reality of a no-show hit me.
But like a vibrant streak of shimmering silver fabric bellowing from Felicia atop the ‘budget barbie bus’. A bright light burst onto the stark outback horizon, when he said; “But I have seats available for tomorrow’s matinee performance… do you want to book those instead?”
Within seconds, my disappointment turned to uncontrollable excitement, and after a frantic call with Lee, Pete and the others, I swooped in to move our booking. Sadly, our good friends, Anthony and Ray, were unable to ‘drag’ themselves along to that performance!
The show was being staged at the quirky, Twelfth Night Theatre, in Bowen Hills. So, we arranged an early afternoon, pre-show coffee at Milano Bakehouse, a short 5-minute drive away!
Who’d have thought! The timing of the matinee may just glide in nicely for this flock of gulls, with the opportunity for us to enjoy lunchtime coffee and treats. And then a glass of vino at the theatre … keow – keow - keow!!!
Despite having all Sunday morning to get ready, Stephen and I still headed out the door late for our 1.30pm pre-show meetup. We really do need to take a straw out of Lee and Pete’s nest. They’re rarely late for our meetups, even though Pete’s got a reputation for ‘over-preening’.
And yes, admittedly this gull may be renowned for excessive pluming himself. But when we arrived Lee did say that Pete was already in the shower at 11.30am – two hours before our meetup!!
Milano Bakehouse, part of the acclaimed Merlo coffee roasters, is in a prime industrial area of Bowen Hills. The cafe` area is modern, stylish, and their skilled bakers produce an impressive range of artisan breads and sweet pastries.
And the place was abuzz with lots of excited customers. In fact, it was so busy, a slight panic set in at the possibility our food wouldn’t arrive quickly! OMG… can you imagine us missing ‘Curtain Up’ after everything that’s happened!!
But thankfully, Lee and Pete’s sandwich and coffee arrived pretty pronto and they swooped straight in.
These gulls only paused briefly to look up from their plates, as Pete quipped; “Oops! … we should have waited! We’ll be finished before you even start!”
And after what felt like the longest 15-minute wait ever, our goodies appeared too, with Stephen and I devouring delicious avocado on toast!
We hastily exited the bakehouse and made our way to the theatre. Stephen and I parked 500m away and took a fast-paced walk in what was a stinking hot spring day. Lee and Pete managed to grab a spot closer to the theatre, so they ordered four glasses of red for our arrival… thank you so much!!
And as we took our first sip, the theatre doors sprung open, and we joined the loud, throng of excited, theatre goers, as we all headed in.
Our seats were great! Like a group of naughty boys, we sat at the back of the theatre in front of an air-conditioner. It blasted us with cool air, which was such a relief after that massive walk up the hill.
And then it was curtain up, as we watched in awe at how Paterson Productions cleverly created ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’, for the stage.
The performance was flamboyant, hilarious, crude, poignant, and absolutely ‘faaabulous!’
And it brought new meaning to the game of; ‘Ping Pong’, and how to clean your teeth, if you ever get smacked hard in the face – … you’ll need to see a performance or watch the movie to know what I mean!!
After the show, we climbed the stairs to the front outside balcony and looked at the view from the theatre.
Masses of excited patrons were exiting the theatre below, mingling with the cast. And in a scene reminiscent to the shows ending atop the rock, we looked at each other, and someone then said, ‘it’s time to go home now!’
Stephen and I watched a documentary on the movie the following week. It showed how; Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and especially, the late, great, Terence Stamp, took themselves way outside their comfort zones to play the roles. Their strong, iconic performances are a testament to their sheer talent. But more importantly, they’re a timely reminder to us all, that sometimes we need to face our fears, believe in ourselves, and go for the things we want in life… because we may just deliver the performance of a lifetime!
I love sharing our coffee escapades with you, so please help me share the joy of coffee and friendships. Like, follow and share the ‘Out at Coffee’ Facebook page. And if you have suggestions for a great coffee venue in or around Brisbane, please drop us a line via the Contact page, we’d love to add it to our caffeine calendar.
Allan