WE WILL ROCK YOU touring till 9 January 2010
WE WILL ROCK YOU: Music and Lyrics, Queen; Book, Ben Elton
Birmingham Hippodrome till 5 September then touring (see below)
www.birminghamhippodrome.com
www.wewillrockyou.co.uk
Runs: about 2h.45m, with one interval
Review: Rod Dungate, 2 July 2009
Total theatre. Total amazement. Total music. Total effects. Total show.
I see a lot of exciting, stimulating, funny theatre. But it’s a long time since I’ve been so viscerally thrilled by a production. Whatever you’re looking for, this show has it all - and then a bit more.
Queen was special; Queen’s music has a special place in our hearts. Ben Elton, in creating the book for the show has tapped this special quality; his story, quirky and funny as it is, is also profound - it’s about something important.
The story is set in 2309; this is a time when live instruments are banned. The population is controlled because music production and distribution is controlled. Gone are the artists who create music from their imagination, challenging the status quo; in its place is computer generated, inoffensive bland mush - neatly christened GAGA in the show. Rebels, however, are seeking instruments to play live so that the world’s population can escape their virtual existence and live again, in the real world. This is a powerful message, one that the performers clearly believe in too - for they perform with passion, energy and excitement.
These emotions are reflected by us in the auditorium, the excitement is infectious, the atmosphere thrillingly electric. Queen reigns supreme still.
Alex Gaumond and Sarah French-Ellis are excellent leads (Galileo and Scaramouche). Gaumond has a quiet, gentle manner bursting into life when he sings; French-Ellis an hilarious and touching sense of irony and cynicism. Elton draws his broad-brush characters well . . . and the company fill their boots with verve. Brenda Edwards is outrageous as a Tina Turneresque Killer Queen with a great singing voice. Wayne A Robinson and Georgina Hagen make their fabulous marks as rebels Britney and Meat. But to be fair, it’s the entire company which is the star.
The live musicians capture the Queen sound incredibly accurately. And settings, video / graphics, lighting and sound all merge together to make the show totally unforgettable.
On press night Brian May and Roger Taylor joined the company at the curtain call to play (you should have heard the audience yell!) and Ben Elton said hello from the show to Birmingham and the Hippodrome. Ben Elton thanked the audience: ‘Without you - who make the effort to get here - live theatre can’t happen.’ Then linking neatly to the show’s theme, succinctly summarising: ‘Fuck YouTube - get to live Rock ‘n’ Roll.’
Do: let them rock you.
Pop: Kevin Kennedy.
Khashoggi: Jonathan Wilkes.
Galileo: Alex Gaumond.
Scaramouche: Sarah French-Ellis.
Killer Queen: Brenda Edwards.
Britney: Wayne A Robinson.
Meat: Georgina Hagen.
Ensemble: Gemma Abrams, Paul Ayres, Mathew Craig, Matt Crandon, Emma Crossley, Julius Ebreo, Eddie Elliott, Amy Hathaway, Trina Hill, Rachel John, Robert Jones, Jasmine Kerr, Danielle-Leigh Morris, Olly Pike, Dean Rad, Ashley J Russell, Marie Walker, Brett Watkiss.
Swing: Patrick George, Rebecca Howell (Dance Captain), Vikki-Marie Ryan, Andrew Simeon, Katie Warsop.
Band:
Musical Director: David Beer.
Assistant Musical Director: Jim Henson.
Keyboard: Irvin Duiguid.
Guitar: Simon Croft.
Guitar: James Barber.
Bass Guitar: Nathan Welch.
Drums: Rufus Taylor.
Percussion: Matt McLaughlin.
Music and Lyrics: Queen.
Book and Direction: Ben Elton.
Production Designer: Mark Fisher.
Lighting Designer: Willie Williams.
Video Directors: Mark Fisher and Willie Williams.
Sound Designer: Bobby Aitken.
Costume Designer: Tim Goodchild.
Casting Director: Pippa Ailion.
Vocal Harmony Arrangements: Brian May and Mike Dixon.
Orchestrator: Steve Sidwell
Musical Supervisors: Mike Dixon, Brian May and Roger Taylor.
Musical Staging and Choreography: Arlene Phillips.
Tour Arrangements
Birmingham Hippodrome till 05.09
Bristol Hippodrome: 16.09 - 31.10
Edinburgh Playhouse: 04.11 - 09.01.10
2009-07-03 12:13:11