Everybody is talking about Jamie, and rightly so - they should
be!
This incredible, critically acclaimed masterpiece graced the
stage of The Lowry Theatre, Salford, last night on its first stop of a UK
tour.
'Everybody’s Talking About Jamie' follows the life of recently turned 16 year old Jamie New, who explores his want and need to be on stage dressed as Sheffield’s newest up-and-coming Drag Queen, Star. Jamie has to navigate the judgement, prejudice and emotions that every teenager faces in school however he’s determined to do that in his beautiful red heels! Supported by his mother Margaret and Aunty Ray, who’s "not really your Aunty, but your mums best friend but you still call her Aunty because she basically is"; Jamie is able to take on the world of exams, prom and his first drag appearance - all the while getting tips and tricks of the trade from his wonderful mentor, Loco Chantelle / Hugo.
Layton Williams beautifully gave us everything we wanted from Jamie New and then some! Williams transformed each and every audience member into his best friend as we laughed, cried and danced along with him and his re-telling of Jamie’s story. His relationship with Margaret (Amy Ellen Richardson) was abundantly clear throughout as we saw his character grow in confidence with the support from her! Jamie’s confidence and charisma shone throughout the production but also Williams was able to show his vulnerable side as he gripped the audience when revealing Jamie’s insecurities and troubles. Jamie’s relationship between best friend Pritti Pasha (Sharan Phull) and himself filled the audience's hearts with love and it is clear that both Williams and Phull have an incredible relationship off stage as well because that friendship could not be faked, it felt so natural. Brilliant. In the hard hitting scenes between Jamie’s dad and himself, Harrison filled the stage with so many different emotions at once that we as an audience felt the pain, confusion, anger and love his character was feeling. Some of my favourite moments from Williams were his time on stage with Shobna Gulati, these two bounced off each other like a comedy duo and I loved to see it! Overall Layton Williams is a remarkable Jamie and I absolutely adored watching him perform on stage, the character feels so true to how he plays him, that the audience feel like we know Jamie personally and that’s down to Williams's vulnerability and love for the character.
If there is one voice I would listen to forever, it’s that of Amy Ellen Richardson. Her renditions of 'If I Met Myself Again' and 'He’s My Boy' gripped the audience so much that you could hear a pin drop in. In that moment I knew that if I ever had children I wanted to be a mother like Margaret! Richardson played Jamie’s mother wonderfully showing the heartbreak, vulnerability and turmoil she was going through in order to keep her son ignorant of the hurt his father would put him through! Her relationship with Ray was that of a typical northern friendship and it’s one every audience member wanted to be part of! Richardson was phenomenal in this role, If she ever was given the chance I would love to see her playing the character of Beverley Bass In 'Come From Away' as I believe she would smash it!
'Everybody’s Talking About Jamie' was a musical unlike anything I have watched before, it had found the perfect balance between comedy, tragedy and quick timing! Every character was perfectly polished and the banter between characters was perfectly timed - the majority of it coming from 'Dinner Ladies' & 'Coronation Street' star, Shobna Gulati. Her character of Ray is a masterpiece! Applause to Jonathan Butterell & Tom Macrae’s writing, however an even bigger round of applause for Gulati’s comic timing! Rays character left the audience in pieces throughout every scene with unpredictability being the only predictable thing about her character, this then gave the harder hitting scenes nearer the end the sensitivity they needed showing a different side to Gulati’s character which worked so well!
I could talk about this show for forever and a day, as it has easily become one of my favourite musicals! Everything about it just worked perfectly and I will never grow tired of seeing it! It was also wonderful to see Shane Ritchie in the role of Hugo / Loco Chantelle. I must admit I was sceptical at first and very unsure about the casting however I found I really enjoyed watching him on stage once I adjusted to his northern accent. Plus his singing voice was a delight on the ears as well!
Special mentions must go first to Sharan Phulls beautiful singing voice. She was everything my imaginary Pritti Patel was and more and I was so happy to see her rendition of 'Spotlight' and 'It Means Beautiful'; and also to George Sampson in his role as Bully Dean Paxton, he was definitely one of the most hated character at times as all you heard from the audience were disgusted gasps whenever he opened his mouth! Wonderful acting from him!
I would definitely say If you haven’t booked to see this show, you need to step out of the darkness and into the spotlight as soon as possible! I know I’ll be booking to see it at least 3 more times!
Reviewer - Caroline Bleakley
on - 4.9.21
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