MUSIC THEATRE REVIEW - Queen Extravaganza 02 Apollo Manchester

Queen Extravaganza is the official tribute band which is touring the UK and Ireland to mark the 50th anniversary of the tremendously popular Queen hit song, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor are the masterminds behind tribute band Queen Extravaganza, which doesn’t attempt to mimic Queen band members but performs Queen classic hit tunes from Queens extensive catalogue of hit singles and albums.

The stage set is adorned with an oversized golden Queen emblem portrayed against the backdrop which is draped with purple curtains and a wall of spotlights. The drumkit is set up on a platform with steps leading up to it and a keyboard is stage left. The 85 year old theatre which was originally a theatre has an intimate feel, and the auditorium has few seats unoccupied; the audience ages varied from teenagers to more mature Queen fans of 60+.

The audience exploded into cheers and whistles as the six-piece band members burst onto the stage whilst white strobe lights flashed in abundance. Vocalist, Alirio Netto, bedecked in a black glittery jacket and shades took the lead singing ‘We Will Rock You’ to the delight of the audience eager to lap up the band’s offerings. He followed this with ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, with the wall of lights on the backdrop changing to different colours throughout and finished the number aka Freddie Mercury with his powerful stance, arm raised, on the steps leading up to the drumkit.

The popular ‘Somebody to Love’ came next with encouragement by vocalist Gareth Taylor for audience participation who eagerly clapped and joined in; Taylor then asked them to “Make some noise” whilst singing ‘Under Pressure’, duetting with drummer/vocalist George ‘Chips’ Farrar. Farrar followed with a rendition of the B side of hit single, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘I’m in Love With My Car’.

‘You’re my Best Friend’ from the enduring Queen album, ‘ A Night at the Opera’ was performed by Netto and Taylor together followed by ‘Killer Queen’ which had the audience on their feet dancing and clapping.

‘Days of Your Life’, penned by Queen drummer, Roger Taylor was performed whilst four videos on the backdrop depicted Queen members in their youth and then Taylor sang ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ asking for more participation from the audience.  ‘I Want it All’ followed with guitarists, Nick Radcliffe and François-Olivier Doyon along with Taylor, performing a threesome solo guitar spot together front of stage.

After a short interval ‘It’s a Kinda Magic’ delighted the audience as the four videos on stage showed animated caricatures of Queen members whilst search spotlights scanned the audience with the sounds of explosions and gun shots. Radcliffe performed a guitar solo on ‘ Who Wants to Live Forever’, written by Brian May and ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, a firm favourite.

‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘I Want to Break Free’ and ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ had the audience enthralled, singing and dancing enthusiastically.  Musical Director/Keyboard Player, Darren Reeves joined vocalists Taylor and Netto front of stage to conduct a sing-off from the audience and ‘Radio GaGa’ helped keep the party going.

The show culminated with ‘ Bohemian Rhapsody’ with the videos on stage showing the original Queen video and an encore of ‘We Are The Champions’ completed the show.

The music is loud, very loud, sometimes the vocalists are not in tune and often chords are missed by the guitarists, but the overall experience is memorable due to the song content. Strong strobe spotlights flashed continuously onto the stage and at times onto the audience so anyone with vision sensitivity may find it unwelcome and uncomfortable or painful.

Queen Extravaganza is touring UK in 2025, tour dates may be found at https://www.queenonline.com/quex/upcoming_shows.

Reviewer: Anne Pritchard on 15.02.2025

 Photos - Stufish Entertainment Architects

 

 

 

STUDENT THEATRE SCHOOL REVIEW - RELIABLE FICTIONS Arden Theatre School, Manchester College, Manchester

 Written by The Arden Theatre's tutor Graham Lappin, 'Reliable Fictions' is a song cycle about life's relationships that could have been, had they only been written better!  As Lappin states, we all create our own reliable fictions on a daily basis, our stories, the ones that matter, but always our own versions of them. Love of course takes centre stage in the vast majority of these fictions of course. In fact, my main concern with this song cycle was that for it 65 minute duration (performed without a break) it became both quite predictable and very samey. Most of the songs were slow, considerate pieces, torch songs if you will, even when the tempo was upped slightly in a couple of the more jazzier numbers, the directing and the pace remained constant, as did the performers' thought processes. We longed for a little more than a simple walk across the stage to sit on the circular dais in the centre; we ached for the character to burst into a spontaneous run rather than the predestined amble that affected them all And we hoped to hear the band strike up a really cool up-tempo piece which went just a little faster than molto allegretto. However, all that being said, the music was harmonic, tuneful, and each song individual, working well with the performer or performers chosen to sing it. I loved the full company close harmonies, in fact, when they came, the harmonies in general were lush.

 Performed on a very simple set of a parquet floor and central circular dais, with the live band in a line behind but separated by both a small step and some clever lighting [the simple but effective lighting design pleased me throughout] they were always in tune and sounding great; just ever so slightly too loud at times, masking the quieter, more intimate moments of the soloists. Costuming was also kept to an absolute minimum, with the cast in generic blues and whites, although I would have liked, on a personal note, to have seen a little change to this for each character, perhaps by the simple addition of a feather boa, a hat, or a bag.

 The ensemble cast, comprised of third year graduating students of the Vocal Studies And Performance course at Arden Theatre School - namely - Sarah Bush, Cal Carlisle, Charlotte Collins, Mabel Cozens, Jacob Jones, Cherry Lam, Charlotte Lisgo, KImberley Scholes, Halle Thomson, and Emily Smith - they proved that acting people older than themselves with life's baggage was not beyond them, and although they did not yet have the maturity and experience to be able to give fully rounded performances, they made a brave and realistic attempt; whilst the cycle provided many opportunities for them to showcase their vocal talents whilst also giving them much scope for development.

 REVIEWER - ALASTAIR ZYGGU on 7.2.25