We Will Rock You

The second of three reports on ‘We Will Rock You’ in district 4 took me to Penarth’s Paget Rooms to visit PODS.  This jukebox musical has proven very popular across the region with songs from rock band, Queen.  The story is set 300 years into the future where rock music and individuality are banned.  It follows a few rebels who fight to take down the corporation controlling the planet.

I received the usual warm welcome from the PODS front of house team, and the audience were encouraged to sing along in the more well-known musical numbers; a request that they duly obliged!

As I entered the main hall, I was mesmerised by the phenomenal set that had been created.  PODS’ sets are always brilliant, but this really was something else!  The touch of BAFTA award winning designer, Andy Bradshaw, really shone through.  His eye for detail was also evident in the costumes worn by the cast.  Both set and costumes were a real strength in this production.

The live band, led by musical director, Ben Davies, drove the production along at a good pace and they delivered the iconic musical numbers well, whilst for the most part, providing sympathetic accompaniment to the performers.

The large ensemble cast worked well to deliver the choreography which was appropriate for the piece and their vocal harmonies were excellent.  Fat Bottomed Girls in particular, was a real highlight.  Well done all.

In the two main principal roles of Galileo and Scaramouche, Jacob Griffiths and Emily March delivered strong performances.  Both had great voices and moved well.  For the most part, they worked well together.  However, at times, I did feel like they were competing in a ‘who can sing the loudest?’ competition.  A little more light and shade would have been great.  I did really enjoy Emily’s version of ‘Somebody to Love’.  It really set the tone for a great performance.

Jodana Weekley was a powerhouse as Killer Queen.  She burst onto the stage full of energy and attitude with excellent costumes to match.  Her vocals were superb.  Well played.

Paul Mellin provided us with many comedy moments as Buddy.  The audience really liked him, as did I.

I was fortunate enough to be given a backstage tour by director, Fiona Porter-Smith.  It was lovely to see what goes on behind the scenes at this venue and to catch up with Fiona and discuss all things theatre.  On the tour I was introduced to Mark Skone, who played Brit.  He jokingly remarked that he ‘only had a good thirty minutes in him’ these days, but my what a thirty minutes it was!  A performance filled with energy, humour and bags of character.  A real crowd favourite!

As Oz, Jenny Evans gave a good performance with very strong vocals in the musical numbers and a really good character.  She worked well with the other performers and had great comic timing.

Nigel Crick was devilishly wicked as Khashoggi.  He commanded the stage when he was on it and sang really well.

The society worked hard to deliver a high quality performance.  There were a few technical issues with sound and projections but this didn’t detract from the quality of the production too much. 

It’s always a pleasure to visit PODS and this was no exception.  Thank you for a great night at the theatre!

 

 

The views in this report are solely of the author.

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