Posts with the label We Will Rock You
Showing posts with label We Will Rock You. Show all posts
Showing posts with label We Will Rock You. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 June 2023
We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum review: Still Has 'A Kind Of Magic'
We Will Rock You
London Coliseum
★★★
After a ten year absence from the West End, the ‘show must go on’ for We Will Rock You (WWRY) as it takes up its summer residency at the London Coliseum. Set on the iPlanet, a corporate cyberspace where live music is forbidden, this iconic musical follows a group of rebellious bohemians in their search to rediscover the legendary art of rock and roll.
Unfortunately, jukebox musicals have come a long way since WWRY last graced the West End. Unlike newer examples such as &Juliet which prioritise cohesive and earnest story-telling, Ben Elton’s book is inarguably weak. It’s tiring to watch several scenes cynically shoehorned in to allow for a fan-favourites to feature in the show. Musical numbers often feel bookended awkwardly between immature dialogue, rather than moving the narrative along through song. However, these criticisms have been levelled at the show since its first inception, so no surprises there!
This production is clunky and cringeworthy at times. Scenes at GlobalSoft, Gaga High and Gaga Mall are cheapened by dated, distracting graphics and garish costumes. While clearly a deliberate aesthetic, for a show set decades from now it presents a futuristic vision that is firmly rooted in past. Fortunately, the overall design improves greatly when we’re invited into the rebel stronghold at Heartbreak Hotel. The set, designed by Stufish Entertainment Architects, becomes warm and inviting, with miscellaneous scraps and festoon lights cluttering the stage.
If the world of GlobalSoft is silly and contrived, then sadly so is their leader. A WWRY veteran, Brenda Edwards is vocally strong but her Killer Queen is more pantomime villain than ruthless technocrat. Lee Mead is woefully underused. He brings gravitas to his role as sidekick Commander Khashoggi and his performance of the Seven Seas of Rye is a great fun to watch as he peacocks across the stage with an air of gleeful sadism.
The show finally finds its heart when we meet the Bohemians, the first act belonging entirely to Christine Allado as Meat and her spellbinding delivery of No One But You. She is joined by the brilliant Adrian Hansel as hopeful believer Brit, creating a truly dynamic duo.
Elena Skye shines as Scaramouche. She’s feisty and spunky, with cracking comic timing and stellar vocals. Ian McIntosh gives an outstanding performance as the unsuspecting messiah of rock Galileo. He is an absolute vocal powerhouse, having the audience eating out the palm of his hand on more than one occasion. Together their chemistry is palpable and their bickering rendition of Hammer To Fall is a real treat.
Special mention must go to Ben Elton as rebel leader Pop. A singer he is not but he remains a joy to watch as he lives his best life in a world of his own creation.
At risk of being a relic of jukebox musicals past, WWRY still holds up as a night of rousing entertainment and the payoff is immense when it finally reaches its electric and euphoric finale of Queen’s greatest hits. Overall, it’s safe to say it still has ‘a kind of magic’ that will bring audiences back time and time again.
Reviewed on Friday 9th June 2023 by Hope Priddle
photo credit: Manuel Harlan
{AD PR Invite- tickets gifted in exchange for honest review}
Tuesday, 6 December 2022
‘We Will Rock You’ Will Return to London in June 2023
21 years after it first exploded into the West End, Queen and Ben Elton’s sensational smash hit show ‘We Will Rock You’ returns to London next year for an historic, strictly limited 12-weekresidency at the London Coliseum – the same iconic stage which saw Freddie Mercury’s Royal Ballet gala performance in 1979.
Featuring 24 of Queen’s greatest hits and a hilarious script by Ben Elton - who returns to the director’s chair for this London homecoming - ‘We Will Rock You’ rivals the scale and spectacle of the band’s legendary live performances. Queen superstars Brian May and Roger Taylor are delighted that the show will soon be wowing London fans once again.
Brian May said: “I’m thrilled we finally have this opportunity to put We Will Rock You back on stage in London, where it was born. The show’s original message of the fight to re-establish individuality in a dystopian corporate world is even more relevant now than when we began. It will be a completely new production that will burst on to the prestigious London Coliseum stage – but the story, the humour, and of course the Queen music, will hit you harder than ever. We WILL Rock You – again!!”Roger Taylor said: “Bigger, better, faster, funnier! Here we go again… yeaaaaaaaah!”Ben Elton said: “I hope somebody's squared this with English Heritage because the fabulous London Coliseum is a Grade II listed theatre and We Will Rock You is gonna blow the roof off.”
First premiering at London’s Dominion Theatre in 2002, ‘We Will Rock You’ was seen by six million people over 4600 performances during an astonishing 12-year run, becoming one of the most successful musicals in West End history and the longest runner at the Dominion by a margin of nine years. It also foundunprecedented popularity around the world, playing to a global audience of 20 million across 28 countries.
We Will Rock You tells the story of a globalized future without musical instruments. A handful of rock rebels, the Bohemians, fight against the all-powerful Globalsoft company and its boss, the Killer Queen; they fight for freedom, individuality and the rebirth of the age of rock. Scaramouche and Galileo, two young outsiders, cannot come to terms with the bleak conformist reality. They join the Bohemians and embark on the search to find the unlimited power of freedom, love and rock!
‘We Will Rock You’ is produced by Phil McIntyre Live Ltd, Queen Theatrical Productions and Tribeca Theatrical Productions.
Tuesday, 31 May 2022
We Will Rock You (Tour), New Wimbledon Theatre | Review
We Will Rock You (Tour)
New Wimbledon Theatre
Reviewed on Monday 30th May 2022
★★★
Back for its 2022 tour, We Will Rock You is set in a dystopian future where "real" music has been outlawed and replaced with manufactured pop. Society is lived online and it's up to a group of Bohemians to travel across the Seven Seas of Rye, declare themselves the champions and bring back rock and roll and freedom for all.
This truly is a show about the music so you can somewhat overlook book issues but in terms of pacing it's a little clunky. The first act is chockablock with world-building including long winded character and plot introductions; and act two is a game of musical tetris where all the popular tunes we haven't already heard, are fired one after the other. In this production the book also has some modern updates thrown in here and there (some of which fall flat), but the rest of the set and staging doesn't match up and it certainly feels like it missed a chance to be revamped for 2022. There's an element of the outdated screens that does feel fitting but coupled with the budget wigs and costumes, it lacks the sparkle you expect with a tour of this scale.
The heart of We Will Rock You is certainly the cast and the show would be equally as good if it was just a concert of Queen's greatest hits performed by the superstars on stage. As leading man and hero Galileo, Ian McIntosh is wonderful. His vocals soar with so much power behind them and he really embodies the spirit of Queen. Alongside him, Elena Skye as Scaramouche is a dream. Giving major Kerry Ellis vibes, albeit in a different role, Elena's voice is outstanding and she really works with the limited script to make it funny and engaging.
As Killer Queen, Jenny O'Leary is a vocal powerhouse. Her command of the stage is enthralling to watch and she rightfully earns some of the biggest applause of the show. Michael McKell, David Michael Johnson and Martina Ciabatti Mennell also give strong performances. The rest of the cast and ensemble are also very good vocally but there is at times a lack of tight synchronicity that detracts from the clone message which is being put across.
The performances are absolutely top notch but the production itself gives more 'high-school final show' as opposed to 'big-buck tour' and for a show with such bold songs and ideas, there's no continuity or backup given through the sets or costumes, and they feel lacklustre in comparison to the score.
Faults aside, if you want face melting vocals and all your favourite Queen songs, absolutely take a trip, but for a show that feels luxe and finessed, you'll need to look elsewhere.
photo credit: Johan Persson
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