We Will Rock You

My goodness, to sit in the theatre and to have your whole body vibrate with the sound and the rhythm of the bass and to watch the lighting for the overture of this show was outstanding, the audience knew that they were in for a stunner of a performance. Many thanks and congratulations to Steve Hession and his six fellow musicians for the sound and rhythm that they filled the theatre with throughout the show.

The show opened with a virtuoso performance by Alistair Kerr leading as Galileo Figaro and with ‘I want to Break Free’ where he filled the stage with his movement, how he kept his style and position of his body as moved around I don’t know. Alistair gave an excellent performance throughout the show, keeping up his stutter, his style and movement on stage, his excellent vocals and singing range, he wasn’t fazed by his Mic failing and being passed a handheld mic. He clearly showed Galileo’s character throughout and held the audience right through to the performance of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. There was a perfect pairing and chemistry with Luci Collins as Scaramouche whose vocals again were excellent, I loved her character which shone out throughout the show, great accent and making the most of the comedy and great timing, a perfect foil for Galileo. Her singing was perfect for her numbers both with duets and when leading the ensemble, she gave the Ga Ga Kids a run for their money. I loved their number ‘Who Wants to live Forever’. These two also worked fantastically with Jessica Carter as Oz and Munachukwuso Anike as Britney Spears, every number that Munachukwuso was in he stole the scene just by his presence with his energy, movement and voice, great vocals and great costume. Jessica’s presence complimented all that he did and their numbers together, ‘I want it all’ were well performed and sung, she was another great vocal and physical performer, a great solo leading the ensemble in ‘No one but you’.

‘Killer Queen’ was sung with great power and panache by Pippa Kingston as Killer Queen herself, I could have so easily sung along to ‘A Kind of Magic’, a great number sung by both Killer Queen, Khashoggi and an ensemble of Yuppies. Pippa sang some well-known solos that were very well performed in Act Two, she had some fantastic costumes which were worn with style and gave her a commanding presence on stage. The yellow jacket worn as a tribute to Freddie Mercury in the finale was an excellent idea, thank you Amanda. Andy Lingfield as Khashoggi was an inspired piece of casting, he stood out on stage in his uniform and his character was in equal terms, both terrifying and obsequious, he too had a great voice, and that note he held! Andy worked very well with Pippa in ‘A Kind of Magic’ and with the ensemble as he led them in ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’. There was also a great performance from Mark Hariss who as Buddy was the leader and spokesman for the Bohemians, his lines were delivered with great feeling and humour. There were many cameos for members of the Bohemians and a nice role by Laura Grady as the Teacher.

The joy of this show was not only the principals but the cast who gave their all as the various groupings, Teen Queens, Yuppies, Ga Ga Kids, Doctors, Secret Police and obviously the Bohemians. The quality of song was excellent, often whilst performing strict choreography in a faultless fashion. Dialogue was clearly spoken, humour very clear and well timed and all movement perfectly performed, entrances were well timed and there were some great set pieces, around the motorbike – a har ley David son, the Heartbreak Hotel sequences, the gates of ‘Wembley Stadium’, the ‘brain cleansing’ of the Bohemians. These were all helped with great set pieces (courtesy of Scenic Projects).

Although the stage was backed by a video wall, this effectively was in three sections that allowed for exits and entrances allowing for greater flexibility and gave great use of projections, the use of props and set pieces and the cast often filled the stage so no different to a traditional back cloth, scene changes were quick and efficient. Lighting design was very effective and imaginative clearly defining different areas of iPlanet. A very big thank you is extended to Amanda Villamayor for the amazing costumes she and her team created for the Bohemians, Yuppies, Ga Ga Kids and more. For this show wigs and make-up were also essential in the creation of the characters.

Director Paul Collings, Choreographer Lisa Collings, Musical Director Steve Hession and the entire production team and cast should be justly proud of all the time and effort spent on this production.

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