'We Will Rock You' is a long standing British rock musical based on the musical numbers of Queen, and featuring a script written by Ben Elton. Tonight’s performance also starred a truly talented cast, including Ian McIntosh and Elena Skye in the leading roles of Galileo and Scaramouche respectively.
The musical was born in 2002, following a conversation between actor Robert De Niro and Queen founder members Brian May and Roger Taylor. De Niro’s daughter – a huge fan of the music of Queen, suggested her father ask the musicians if they had ever thought of creating a musical based on their songs, and so the rock musical was born. The musical ran for 15 years in the West End from 2002 and played to more than 15 million theatregoers in more than 17 countries. It is now back on a revival tour across the county.
The musical 'We Will Rock You' is a ‘jukebox’ musical based on the music of Queen, with book (The Young Ones, Blackadder, Popcorn) written by Ben Elton. The term ‘jukebox’ musical is used to refer to a piece as an ‘original stage musical, not based on a film, that uses previously released songs that have no direct relation to the story as its musical score.’ This is (in my opinion) entirely apt for this musical. Elton has penned an extremely witty script, which has the audiences really belly laughing at times, but the plot runs out of steam just before the closing numbers. This has always left me quite baffled – and tonight was no different. That said, what I do admire about this particular piece of theatre is the way in which it remains current. First performed nearly 20 years ago, the same time as the first Pop Idol show, the piece is set in a time when we have become slaves to computers relying on them completely for our creativity. Individuality is not permitted, we must be part of the bigger collective. The only thing perhaps missing from this visionary piece is a villain called Simon! Having seen this show on numerous occasions, I can really appreciate the slight changes in the lib to keep it up-to-date. Some names have been amended, particularly for the bohemian characters, changing Meat to Oz (Ozzy Osbourne) and Pop to Buddy Holly. This may possibly be to account for changes in attitude towards women and age.
The story principally follows two young bohemians, on a quest to escape the confines of the Globalsoft Galaxy – a globalized future that has banished all musical instruments. Our two lead protagonists, Scaramouche and Galileo discover an underground world where music lives, and together, with a handful of rock rebels, they fight against Killer Queen, the head of the Globalsoft Company, for the bohemian values of freedom, and individuality.
In tonight’s performance we were treated to a wealth of vocal prowess, particularly from the female cast. Scaramouche (Elena Skye) and Killer Queen (Jenny O’Leary) showed off their enviable talent in numerous power ballads, in which they retained all the original features made so famous by Freddie Mercury, yet with the ability to bring their own inimitable style and personal touches too. Ian McIntosh had the audience with him from the moment he burst into song (quite literally) and we were treated to some truly outstanding vocal performances. The closing rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ I’m sure was sung note perfectly, but by this point, he had the audience up dancing and singing so much, that at times we couldn’t actually hear McIntosh singing over the crowd. My only criticism would be that at times, almost all the leads wanted to belt out their respective solo number, and at times (Seven Seas Of Rye, and No One But You) became a little like white noise – we’d already seen the power ballads, and these numbers would have perhaps benefitted from a more gentle touch. Credit where it is due, Buddy (Michael McKell) was able to handle ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’ with a tangible amount of nostalgia, really transporting the audience back to ‘the days of (our) lives.’
Upon entering the theatre, you could see that the stage had almost been entirely taken over by giant screens, which initially displayed images of the universe. This clever use of technology not only enhanced the performances by bringing the virtual into reality, but also further cemented the notion that technology has taken over, and really thrust the audience into the Big Brother society that Globalsoft portrays. Images and video were used throughout the performance, and the screens are placed so as you see everything from almost all angles in the theatre – this has really been done with all sight lines in mind, something that can often be over looked. Being seated to one side, I was concerned that there may have been things we would miss, but I needn’t have worried. Despite a ‘technical difficulty’ delaying the beginning of the performance, all other aspects of the technical performance seemed to go without a hitch, apart from the exit of the Harley Davidson. So much care and attention had been taken to all technical aspects, that this was a slight imperfection in an otherwise perfect performance.
In conclusion, this will remain one of my favourite pieces of modern musical theatre. This is a production that certainly does what it says on the tin – it rocks!
Reviewer - Jen O'Beirne
on - 6/1/20
No comments:
Post a Comment