We Will Rock You

Ben Elton set his story 300 years into the future in a dystopian world where Earth has been renamed ‘the iPlanet’ and is controlled by the Globalsoft Corporation. Here mainstream commercial conformity reigns, everyone watches the same movies, music is computer generated, a universal ‘uniform’ is worn, and the same thoughts and opinions (only the ‘correct’ ones, of course) are held. Elton wrote this back at the turn of the century, and it is chilling to think how much of that vision has now almost come to pass! Our grandchildren all over the world DO watch all the same movies, wear the same clothes, listen to computer-generated music, and so on. Thankfully though, people do still make music, unlike on the iPlanet, where musical instruments are forbidden and rock music is unknown.

Black sheep Galileo meets a young goth woman, who he names Scaramouche, and together they embark on a quest for liberation, and together with the Bohemians, the restoration of free exchange of thought and culture, and of course real music.

There are plenty of jokes, which the CODY team delivered with great comic timing. But of course the main focus is on the delivery of 30 or so Queen numbers.

Aldershot’s Princes Hall is a spacious 500 seat theatre on 3 levels, which CODY easily manages to fill. Its foyer buzzes with excitement before the show, and CODY front of house team provide a warm and enthusiastic welcome.

CODY always offers a fine A4 sized programme. This one contained full page photos and profiles of each of the main cast members – that was great – and good profiles too of the directing team. The (rather necessary) extensive synopsis was helpful, as the plot is fairly complicated. A two-page spread on Queen made interesting reading, as did an article on the100+ year history of the society, a good Chairman’s note and the ever fascinating list of past productions. Rehearsal photos and some photos from past productions, together with individual and group photos of the whole cast completed this excellent record of a fabulous show. Credit must be given to Photographer John Sherringham.

The set was simple, stairs to left and right, platform over, with three full width steps between the staircases. There was a small screen back of stage which showed the Globalsoft logo; the Heartbreak Hotel of the Bohemians; at one point heart monitors of the prisoners; chilling interaction between the Killer Queen and Khashoggi; and her final demise. Props included a couple of hospital beds, and even a huge motorbike kindly loaned from an enthusiastic supporter.  Lighting was one of the stars of the show, it was fantastic, congratulations to Lighting Director Stephen Williams. At one point people were imprisoned in heptagonal laser cages, if I remember correctly. At various other stages the spots were trained on the auditorium to suggest Globalsoft’s all-encompassing control.

Costumes were fun. The Bohemians and Scaramouche wore a motley collection of clothes they seemed to vaguely suppose rock fans must have worn back in the days of the music. The Teen Queens wore a kind of uniform of  white miniskirts or shorts with pastel highlights. There were some scary guards or thought police, all in black, wearing helmets and goggles. In one scene the Rock Royalty team wore fabulous grey jumpsuits with a red belt and red sunglasses. The Killer Queen’s main colour seemed to be dangerous red, a red trouser suit, or a red and black outfit with startling red shoes and skirt, black corset over, and slinky black leather skirt. Khashoggi was clad in a long intimidating black leather coat, with shiny suit beneath, and always shades!

The six-piece band was placed interestingly at either side of the stage, and was ably directed by Colin Gray. The music of Queen is complex, but the cast and band managed extremely well to master the intricate harmonies and great range of these songs, and achieved a good balance of sound. The harmonies were helped by a group of three backstage singers, joined from time to time by any spare cast members not on stage. An absolute joy to  listen to.

The choreography, by Lucy Bosher, was superb – fresh and precise, with the entire company clearly committed to every movement, with unbridled energy and spark.

This was a fabulous, exciting, in many places breathtaking production. The whole team were obviously thrilled to be taking part in this homage to Queen, and we were thrilled to be part of it too. The buzz as the audience filed out was electric.

The Directors had put together a fine cast, with no weak links, I’d say. George Heath, as Galileo, was amazing, bringing across the initial bewilderment, the unease he felt until he met the girl he then named Scaramouche, and then his gradual gain in confidence as they set themselves on their quest. His voice mastered all those complex songs brilliantly, a fabulous performance (again) from Mr Heath! Rosie Knox excelled too as the strong, feisty, rebellious Scaramouche, vulnerable in the love scene, scary when they fell out, her comic timing was superb too. The two of them complemented each other, both in their singing (‘Under Pressure’, ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’), and in the bond they created between them, full of tension, upset, and ultimately tenderness. We really felt we knew them.

Penny Thatcher was a very intimidating, sinister Killer Queen indeed. ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ as well as ‘Killer Queen’ were performed with great menace, panache and style. Her main henchman, Khashoggi, was a splendid character, wickedly threatening, strutting about the stage in his long black coat and shades, the epitome of evil. But, of course, as weak as a mouse when he got his comeuppance. Dan Evans made this part his own, bringing out all the delightful humour in his role.

The Bohemians Brit and Oz were played deliciously by Philip Mumford and Sapphire Heath respectively, a true partnership, excellent characterisation and joyous enthusiasm, providing a very powerful performance of ‘I Want It All’. Sapphire got to show a tender side with her sensitive ‘No One But You’.

But of course the character we all fell in love with was Buddy. (Or was that just me, transported back to my student days in Germany?). With his long hair, beard, bandana, flamboyant 1970s clothing, warmth and personality, James Suttle made a marvellous Buddy, taking us all back into the mythology and history behind the music with his chilled persona.  We felt safe with him, as he told of a future with real music back again.

During the final number, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, we were thrilled by the guitar solo of Milos Gosney. Wonderful!

Director Sue Canfield and Assistant Director Paul Prebble did us and the cast proud with this first class production, finely tuned in every way, full of creativity, great detail, vim and energy. The whole cast worked with marvellous enthusiasm, with stunning vocal performances all round, and super characterisation. What an exhilarating evening!

 

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