Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton – until 26 March 2022
Reviewed by Eli King
2.5**
Departing on it’s 20th Anniversary Tour, this musical classic is a whirlwind of well-loved hit songs paired with an eclectic, exuberant ensemble. With music from the legendary band Queen, the energy is palpable. Even though the original songs are masterpieces in their own right, the cast are able to transform and warp the songs to truly become their own – without straying too far from the originals.
In an introduction from Ben Elton, he declares the show features “a live band, live vocals and live rock.” For jukebox musicals, there are often issues with the audience singing along, but Ben Elton nipped that in the bud also. “There are 23 world class singers in this stage who can sing better than you, so don’t sing along”. That doesn’t mean to say that you have to sit still in complete silence, there are many opportunities to clap, wave your arms and dance in your seat.
Let’s not forget Freddie’s iconic call and response, too
The show begins with a Star Wars-esque into, where the LCD screen background has text scrolling up it to imitate the well known franchise. This is not where the media reference end, either, there are many many more. Perhaps too many. The staging was rather minimal, with the LCD screen doing most of the work, but there was a semi-transparent screen displaying the band on an elevated platform as they played key moments.
Young people going into this show with no context, prepare to cringe. Whilst the performers are undoubtedly extremely talented and they deserve high praise and recognition, there are many parts of the show that either fall flat or get strong responses for the wrong reasons.
Fundamentally, We Will Rock You treats young adults as mindless Internet obsessed zombies and is very anti-technology. Whilst yes, streaming services did lead to the decline in physical CD sales, they are not responsible for the ‘death of rock’. A lot of this show is a badly done commentary on the expansion of technology and media whilst using mainstream movie to heavily influence the styles and storyline. It’s rather hypocritical, which might be the point, but it is unclear.
A prime example is the Lucius Malfoy meets Neo mashup that is Khashoggi (Adam Strong). Oddly, that is not the only Matrix reference within the musical either.
In a musical using Queen’s music, it was interesting to have links to Elvis Presley, Spice Girls, Britney Spears and many more. However, these references and lyric quotations were far too often and felt shoehorned in, making the delivery stiff and a bit cringey. The cast themselves did their best to create a believable and immersive storyline, but the LCD screen with a couple props just didn’t cut it for me. Some people may prefer the more simplistic approach though and find it easier to follow, it’s all personal preference.
Killer Queen is described as vaudeville camp, and the character certainly fits that description. Whilst Jennifer O’Leary is a phenomenal vocalist, the costume team really let her down for the most part. As the only plus-size woman in the cast, her clothing seemed to fit significantly less flattering than the rest of the ensemble. The exception to this was during ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ where she looked stunning in a fitted corset and lace shawl, so they proved that it’s possible, they just didn’t do it for the rest of the show for some reason. Initially, I thought it could be because Killer Queen is the villain, however her sidekick Khashoggi has an impeccably tailored suit on that made her ill-fitting jacket pale in comparison.
Alongside the smattering of pop-culture references, there was also a vast amount of sexual references that had nothing to do with the song or plot line which was just odd. In the rare instance it fitted in with the song or the storyline, it made total sense and was done well, but the constant hip gyrating made it feel like a Steel Panther music video.
They certainly ended each act on the best performances. Act 1 ended with a full-ensemble rendition of The Show Must Go On, followed by We Will Rock You ending act 2, of course. With The Show Must Go On gaining a whole new lease of life during the pandemic, it was extra poignant that the whole cast were involved and truly excelled for that track.
Throughout the entire show Scaramouche (Elena Skye) was a skeptic and was often the only person talking since, constantly asking the egotistical protagonist Galileo (Ian Mcintosh) if he was done talking yet. Even as far as calling the lead an ‘arrogant self-obsessed toss-pot’ and I’d have to agree.
The women in this cast were the backbone of this production, with Laura Ava-Scott and Martins Ciabatti Mennell truly owning every single moment they were onstage. Each Bohemian says ‘I don’t know’ at least 3 times, and quite frankly, if you asked me what happened during half of the show, I’d probably say the same.
The swings performing last night were Karen Walker, Dominic Booth and Jacob Fearey. To keep up with any undercover/swing performers, be sure to follow WestEndCovers on Twitter, they always have the latest updates.
Whilst there are important themes including consent, real-life friendship and that being the ‘chosen one’ isn’t always everything, there are some uncalled for additions. The covid and mask jokes were unnecessary, not funny, and just didn’t add anything to the storyline.
If you want to go to a show and just listen to the music and vibe, this is perfect for you. However, if you like a fully developed storyline and relationships between characters, I’d give it a miss.