The Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham – until Saturday 30 November 2019
Reviewed by: Louise Ford
4****
Queen are the Champions!
The arrival at the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham of the rock musical, We Will Rock You, written by Ben Elton with lyrics by Queen was an excellent way to start the festive season.
It builds on the Queen fever generated by the film Bohemian Rhapsody from last year. The show originally hit the stage in 2002 and delivers 24 of Queen’s legendary songs .
The current show is directed by Cornelius Baltus, costumes by Kentaur, set designs by Stufish Entertainment Architects and choreography by Lajos Turi Peter, packs a powerful punch!
The impressive opening set, is the backdrop to this futuristic tale, where Rock and Roll has been replaced by mindless electronically-generated pop. The musical set in the future features Galileo Figaro (Ian McIntosh) at odds with the world controlled by internet ga ga, and his mouthy sidekick, he names Scaramouch (Elena Skye). Galileo and Scaramouch under take a romantic journey which leads them to be captured by The Rebels, led by Brit (David Michael Johnson). The rebels soon realise that Galileo is The Dreamer and they all join forces to rediscover Rock and Roll and defeat the Globalsoft Corporation.
The show is one of contrasts; the set alternating between the sterile monochrome world of internet gaga and the rebels chaotic and post apocalyptic hide out, the costumes of internet gaga are shiny and uniform whereas the Bohemian rebels are in an eclectic mix of punk and rock and rock outfits, the nameless foot soldiers of Globalsoft Corporation compared to the imaginatively and amusingly named rebels, which evoke the glory days of rock and roll.
The live band, carefully concealed behind the set are unveiled at the end of the show for a hand clapping finale and an impressive guitar solo.
The pantomime villain Killer Queen (Jennifer O’Leary) stole the show with her impressive renditions of the Queen power ballads, Another One Bites The Dust, Don’t Stop Me Now and of course Killer Queen.
The finale has the audience on their feet, clapping, stamping and singing to We Will Rock You and We are The Champions.