Nottingham Theatre Royal – until 27th February 2022
Reviewed by Louise Ford
4****
Be yourself….
The show opens at school, the usual chaos in the class room, all the pupils are self absorbed and full of attitude. The well groomed careers teacher (Lara Denning) handing out careers advice which puts the dampers on some of the pupils’ aspirations. Whilst reminding them that their exams are not that far away, unfortunately they are all preoccupied with the end of term prom. And that’s where the real story starts, about a boy whose ambition is to wear a dress to his school prom, not to be a forklift truck driver.
The story is set in Sheffield and is written by Tom Macrae (book and lyrics) and music by Dan Gillespie Sells. It is based on the real life story/documentary of the 16 year old Jamie Campbell.
Jamie New (Adam Taylor), lives with his mother, Margaret (Amy Ellen Richardson), his father having left them many years ago. Jamie is his mother’s ray of sunshine. She is proud of him, for being who he is and for who he can become. Jamie is gay and proud. Unfortunately he is tormented by the bullies at school (big fish in a small pond) and by his father who doesn’t want to know. His best friend Pritti (Sharan Phull) is also bullied at school for being clever. She wants to be a doctor and is determined to work hard and pass her exams. The rapport between Pritti and Jamie is lovely but the spotlight is always on Jamie. He is tall and gazelle like, with long, long legs, emphasised by the killer ruby stilettos his mum bought him for his birthday.
Jamie is helped on his journey to find his inner drag Queen by Hugo ( Shane Ritchie) with his alter ego Loco Chanelle. Loco has more than a nod to the fiery redhead Lucille Ball and is suitably over the top. She is aided and supported by the girls from Legs Eleven – Sandra Bollock (Gary Lee), Laika Virgin (John Paul McCue) and Tray Sophisticay (Rhys Taylor), all fabulously turned out!
The music and songs range from soulful ballads to pop, with plenty of dance moves. The two stand out numbers for me were It Means Beautiful, sung by Pritti and the heart rendering He’s My Boy sung by Margaret. The later really hit home with the audience with a standing ovation.
The show ends on a upbeat finale of costume changes and glitter and of course everyone is talking about Jamie!