LYCEUM, SHEFFIELD – UNTIL 16 APRIL 2022
Reviewed by Alison Beaumont
5*****
Jamie is a musical inspired by the 2011 television documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16 directed by Jenny Popplewell. The musical follows a 16 year old teenager as he overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out to become a drag queen. The musical is set in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
This show is funny and also quite emotional as sadly many people encounter this type of prejudice. The language and one liners may not be for the prudish but these all add to the reality of this musical. There were times especially in the first act where it was difficult to tell what was being said but that aside this musical still deserves the 5*****. With it being based in Sheffield and watching it in Sheffield also added to the enjoyment especially as you could understand the dialect.
Jamie is played by Layton Williams and did a brilliant job. In this performance his vocals weren’t the strongest which is slightly surprising after listening to clips of his performance on YouTube, where he did an outstanding job. However, this didn’t detract from the performance he delivered. I would struggle to walk in Jamie’s heels let alone dance in them.
Pritti Pasha (Sharan Phull) is Jamie’s best friend and encourages him to follow his dreams and not to hide away. Pritti for me had the best vocals and was outstanding, I particularly enjoyed “It Means Beautiful”.
I also felt that Jamie’s mum, Margaret (Amy Ellen Richardson) also had particularly good vocals and gave a faultless performance. Her best friend Ray (Sasha Latoya) was very funny.
Shane Ritchie (famously known as playing Alfie Moon in Eastenders) joined the performance as Hugo/Loco Chanelle. It was very different to see Shane playing a northerner. In my opinion I felt that he played Loco Chanelle better than he did Hugo.
There was a cast change in this performance, Dean was played by Ryan Hughes and he played the part of the bully very well and true to life.
Amazing performances by everyone and the dancing was out of this world with great choreography.
A full standing ovation by the audience at the end was very much deserved. I would recommend anyone to go and watch this musical and would definitely go and see this again