Grand Opera House York – until Saturday 19th February 2022
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
4½ ****
We Will Rock You, with music and lyrics by Queen and the book written by Ben Elton, has been around for 20 years, and this is the first time I’ve seen it. I had heard of the musical and knew it centred around the music of Queen, but that was it, I never like to read up about any show I go to see, I like to see it through fresh eyes.
I knew it was a popular show and the queue outside the theatre confirmed that. It was no problem queuing up and the staff were very efficient, checking Covid passes and scanning tickets. The theatre was packed with very few vacant seats, always a great sign and makes a wonderful atmosphere, we were all eager to hear the wonderful music of Queen.
Set in a dystopian future where music, as we know it, has been banned, where the all-powerful GlobalSoft, led by the Killer Queen (Jenny O’Leary) and her second in command Khashoggi (Adam Strong), has universal dominance of the iPlanet. It’s a world where everyone is expected to conform, full of GaGa girls and boys. As with any dictatorship there are always those who will rebel, in this case The Bohemians, who are fighting to bring back rock music, though they are not too sure what that is. They’ve named themselves after Rock Gods, such as Britney Spears(?!), Cliff Richard (?!) and Meatloaf, having no clue who they really are. Cliff (Michael McKell) is the leader of this eclectic bunch. McKell has a lot of stage presence, as well as a fine voice.
Galileo (Ian McIntosh) and Scaramouche (Elena Skye), know they are different. After showing freewill, they find themselves locked up together, ready to be reprogrammed. Subsequently they escape and go in search of The Bohemians, trying to make sense of the words in Galileo’s head. The chemistry and dialogue between the two is great, though Scaramouche does have the best lines.
A few years ago, I saw Queen in concert in Sheffield, with Adam Lambert as lead singer, and it was excellent, best concert I’ve been to. McIntosh as one of the leads, lives up to the Queen name, doing justice to the iconic music, he was fabulous. It was good to see that the whole cast were given the opportunity to shine and sing a Queen song.
The set was dark, with scaffolding at the back of the stage, digital images projecting onto screens within. It wasn’t until later that we realised that the band, a fantastic group of musicians, were playing behind the screens on the top floor, hidden for most of the show.
At first when I saw the programme I was like, wow, how many cast, and how are they all going to fit on this small stage? Even the first number, when the stage was packed, I wasn’t convinced that it would work, but boy was I proven to be wrong. The choreography and energy on stage was quite electrifying, everyone looked like they were having a fabulous time.
The story is absolutely bonkers, but I do love this kind of theatre. It was funny, maybe at times a bit pantomime, but that’s not a negative thing. It’s a vibrant show full of innuendo and cultural references. With its timeless music, just go out and enjoy it for what it is, a bit of fun and a great night out.