We Will Rock You

Ben Elton’s witty script, paired with Queen’s music, makes this one of the more recent musicals to reach the amateur theatre circuit. Kentish Players’ production was vibrant throughout, from the bold, colourful costumes and lighting to the minimal set pieces that carried the audience through the story. The cast brought an infectious energy, particularly in many of the lead performances.

The open stage used television screens and rear projection to introduce Globalsoft and establish each scene’s setting, showcasing Steve French’s outstanding video design. David Beaumont’s lighting was vivid throughout and included, not my personal favourite, strobe effects. Nicole Bellhouse’s costumes were excellent, giving Globalsoft a sleek futuristic look while ensuring the Bohemians looked entirely authentic. Becky Beaumont’s choreography was superb, I can’t say more than that. The 7-piece band led by MD Ryan Cottee was positioned high up at the back of the stage, they certainly gave justice to Queen’s iconic music.

Set 300 years in the future, the musical takes place on Earth, now called the iPlanet, where instruments are banned and rock music has long been forgotten. The planet is ruled by Killer Queen, backed by her company, Globalsoft. (The lead characters’ names all reference bands, music icons, or song lyrics.) Our hero, Galileo Figaro, is a dreamer plagued by visions of a world filled with rock music. He blurts out lyrics from old songs, such as ‘Hit me baby one more time’, without understanding their meaning or origin. Branded a rebel, he is captured by Killer Queen and her chief of police,Khashoggi. He then meets Scaramouche, another non-conformist who refuses to submit to Globalsoft. The pair escape from Khashoggi. Elsewhere, a group of rebels known as the Bohemians are led by Buddy a former Globalsoft employee who has stolen a videotape from the archives that she believes may help them uncover the true meaning of rock. Two more rebels, Brit and Oz, are searching the iPlanet for objects they believe could be turned into a musical instrument. When they come across Galileo and Scaramouche, they join them in pursuing Galileo’s dream of finding an ancient artefact capable of playing rock music.

The cast and ensemble included several outstanding performers. Charlie Grant led the show confidently as Galileo, delivering powerful vocals and capturing the character’s curious, rebellious nature. Hollie Robinson was excellent as Scaramouche and her on-stage chemistry with Charlie felt natural and convincing. Estelle Burfoot sang the role of Killer Queen with strength, especially in “Another One Bites the Dust”, and brought the commanding stage presence the character requires. She also paired effectively with Ben Smyth suitably menacing as Chief of Police Khashoggi. Other performances deserving mention came from Francesca Grant as Buddy, Alex Walter as Brit and Caroline Ferguson as Oz. Again good on stage chemistry between Alex and Caroline with strong vocals. I particularly liked Carioine’s rendition of ‘Only the Good Die Young’ while we watched the names and ages of Rock/Pop stars who have “Gone Too Soon.”  Of course all’s well that ends well but we couldn’t end without an encore of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ sang by the whole company and led by Galileo suitably dressed in a yellow jacket and white trousers as a tribute to Freddy Mercury. Director Paul Ferguson must be extremely proud of this cast and crew who delivered such a high quality production.

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