We Will Rock You

This grand old theatre – celebrating her 120th birthday this year - was rocked to her foundations by the energy and powerfulness of this production from the opening notes of the Prologue until the last note of the magnificent rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” sung by the whole cast as an encore. Young Alex Donnelly was outstanding in the lead role of Galileo Figaro showing great acting skills and with a powerful voice shown to its best in “I Want To Break Free” and in the duets “Under Pressure” and “Who Wants to Live Forever” with Scaramouche. Scaramouche was played brilliantly by the petite dynamo Emmah Chibesakunda with just the right amount of sassiness in delivering her dialogue – particularly with Galileo – and her amazing voice soaring in her rendition of “Somebody To Love” and in her duets with Galileo (or Gaz as she was want to call him just to annoy him!). Another well matched pairing were Kenneth Lypka as the kick-boxing Brit, the leader of the Bohemian rebels and Amanda Haggart as Oz, his Bohemian “chick”. Their interactions added much to the humour in the piece and their renditions of “I Want It All” and leads in “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” were excellent. However one of the highlights for me was Oz’s heartfelt rendition of “No One But You (Only the Good Die Young)". Deborah Townsend made a magnificent Killer Queen dominating the stage - and everyone on it – in her every scene. Her renditions of “Killer Queen” and “Don’t Stop Me Now/Another One Bites the Dust” were to die for! Commander Khashoggi – her right hand man – was strongly played by Stephen Summers displaying equally well the characters ruthless streak with the rebels and his obsequious side in his interaction with Killer Queen. Buddy, the Bohemians historian, was well played by Grant Ogston with his characterisation reminding me of George Harrison in his Hare Krishna period. His strong singing voice was displayed in his lead in “These Are The Days of Our Lives” with the rest of the Bohemians. The ensemble singing was first class with the harmonies shining through in the big company numbers like “A Kind of Magic” and “We Are The Champions”. The movement by them whether as Ga Ga girls, Teen Queens, Yuppies or Bohemians was immaculately executed. The 7-piece band in the pit deserve every bit as much praise as those on stage for producing such a great sound. The set was relatively simple with good use being made of the stepped area at the back especially in the company numbers. The video images on the cyc (and the side legs) set the various locations well and allowed for seamless transitions between scenes aided by atmospheric lighting. Well done everyone for an outstanding production well deserving of the extended applause and standing ovation from the full house first night audience.

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