Hull New Theatre – until 18 January 2020
Reviewed by Catherine McWilliams
3***
We Will Rock You arrived at Hull New Theatre last night and the music of Queen filled the theatre – much to the delight of the full house. We Will Rock You, with music and lyrics by Queen and the book written by Ben Elton, was first performed in 2002 and is crammed full of Queen’s biggest hits.
The action is set in a dystopian future where the Globalsoft Corporation controls the minds of all and everyone has to watch the same things and listen to the same computer generated music. Real music has been banned as have all musical instruments and only a few rebels “The Bohemians” are searching for it, but they are not quite sure what it is they are looking for. They are waiting for “The Dreamer” who is going to save real music.
The plot is full of cheesy fun and humour and doesn’t take itself seriously, the cast clearly loving every minute of it. The Bohemians are all called after rock stars, but they haven’t quite got it right and random song lyrics pop up all over the place, but the star of the piece is of course the music. We Will Rock You is clearly updated regularly, as it was full of current references.
Ian McIntosh plays the hero of the piece Galileo, who doesn’t want to conform and hears words and phrases but isn’t quite sure what is going on. He was superb and played the part to perfection. He has an incredible voice and delivered all his songs beautifully, I particularly loved “I Want to Break Free”. His relationship with Scaramouche (Elena Skye) was totally believable.
Elena Skye has to have some of the best lines in the production, her put downs of Galileo were wonderful! She was excellent as Scaramouche, feisty and quick witted and believable. The duet with Galileo of “Who Wants to Live Forever” was heart rending.
Michael McKell stole the show at times as Buddy, hamming it up wonderfully with a loveable cheekiness. But oh what a voice he has, “These are the Days of our Lives” is one of my favourite Queen songs and his rendition was beautiful, it left me choked up.
The choreography was incredible and particularly fabulous in the pieces involving Jenny O’Leary’s rocking Killer Queen, she definitely ruled!
The ensemble were very talented and worked very hard, as this is a high octane show, and it has to be said a satisfyingly long show. The set design was at times simply mind blowing, I loved it.
The music really is the star of this show and a big shout out must go to the band, Musical Director Bob Broad, Zachary Fils, James Barber, Simon Croft, Neil Murray and Dave Cottrell. They were simply outstanding and I was very disappointed that we didn’t see them to give them the ovation they fully deserved. I loved that the songs were performed by a variety of cast members and more importantly that this was not just about replicating the song as performed by Queen.
So why have I only given this 3 stars? This production is wonderful, full of fun and cheesiness, crammed with a talented cast, fantastic choreography and sets, and full of fabulous music, but I suspect that if you aren’t a Queen fan this will not be for you. The story line is quite light and it is Queen’s music that drives the piece.
Last night’s crowd at Hull New Theatre loved every minute of We Will Rock You, they shot to their feet at the end, a sure sign in Hull that the cast had nailed it! The buzz and the smiles of the audience at the end said it all – a great night out.