Royal & Derngate Theatre, Northampton – until Saturday 1st June 2024
Review by Amanda Allen
5*****
Now I know why everybody is talking about “Everybody’s talking about Jamie” and the loss to the world of a Forklift Truck driver…. What a show! From the opening ensemble number to the last glimpse of Jamie in his finery this show romped along on a rollercoaster of emotion and reminders of just how bad and good teenage life and school could be.
Telling the story of Jamie New, brilliantly and believable played by Ivano Turco, Jamie is “different”. He likes to dress in his mums clothes and he has a dream, to be a drag queen…. in Sheffield. When most of his 16 year old classmates are considering a future as a WAG, a reality TV star or in best friend Pritt’s case, (played perfectly by Talia Palmathanan), a doctor, he decides to ignore his careers teachers advice that he is best suited to be a fork lift truck driver and go his own individual way in the world. With a strong positive depiction of a unique personality this story has something for everyone. The deep connection between Jamie and his mum Margaret, played by Rebecca Mckinnis, was wonderfully demonstrated by brilliant dialogue, acting and songs, we all felt part of their story. The way Margaret tried to support and protect her son from the world and all the bad stuff in it, like his disapproving and unaccepting dad, was marvellous. The strong friendship between Margret and Ray (Sejal Keshwala) was a lesson in how to act out understated, emotional connections, both actors are exceptional talents. Margarets singing voice was just amazing, incredible range, perfect pitch and a wonderfully expressive sound.
The dance moves of the ensemble were perfectly suited to the time and the choreography allowed the individual characters of the students to shine through the crowd. The powerful imagery of the Red shoes given to Jamie as a birthday present, was used to perfection and how Jamie danced and strutted in those high heels I do not know! Full marks must go to the costume department, from the relative simplicity of the school uniforms that could be danced in, the drab, boring house mum clothes for Margaret, to the incredible drag outfits, the costume and wardrobe department excelled themselves. Along with fabulously clever staging and imaginative lighting, the whole look of the show fitted the narrative perfectly. The way the desks morphed into a wall in front of his house for Jamie to sing ‘The wall in my head’ was brilliantly imaginative.
The big name in the show was Kevin Clifton who played Hugo/Loco Chanelle, I half expected his character to overshadow the others, but he played his part to perfection, understated, a bit past it, slightly worn out, a perfect foil for the shiny new Jamie. Georgina Hagen as Miss Hedge is also worth a mention, going from strong pop ballad to rapping, strutting singing on the desks in her classroom with ease. The singing talent of Pritti Pasha was unexpectedly amazing, this shy, geeky, weird, yet strong best friend suddenly found her voice in “it means beautiful” it made me cry as did “He’s my boy” sung with brilliant emotion by Margaret.
This is a terrific show, very of its time, happy, uplifting, joyous and wonderful, but I really want to know how they changed the Loco Chanelle white dress into a red one on stage in less than 4 seconds! Go and see it and see if you can work that one out!