Historically never a fan of musicals, you can imagine my incredulity when I first discovered that Ben Elton’s We Will Rock You has a very similar plot to Rush’s sci-fi prog masterpiece, 2112. “Everyone loves Queen, and everyone will think it’s their idea!” “Nobody understands prog” or “It’s a rip-off”. My disgruntled mutterings would usually continue in this way whenever the topic of the hit musical came up. I’ve since learned that Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart’s story of musical creativity being crushed by a futuristic totalitarian regime was itself a take on an old trope and really, Elton wasn’t the only one to revisit the idea. His take is very much like his stand-up shows (another feature of my formative years) – wry observations on the influence of social media, vacuous reality stars and autotuned music.
As a child of the 80s, I grew up with Queen’s music in the charts, in my house and in the house of a childhood friend (we both still love Queen!) Their music synced perfectly with my formative years, from the glorious camp of the 1980 Flash Gordon soundtrack, right through to 1991’s Innuendo, with it’s title-track prog leanings appealing to my ever-developing teenage musical tastes. Call them dad rock if you will, but Queen have always had a place in my nostalgic heart and to this day, I struggle to name a more successful singles rock band with such wide appeal.
So, when the opportunity arose to grab a spare ticket and watch the show in London’s West End I put my reservations aside and went along. I had no idea the show’s writer Ben Elton would be in the performance I saw, though I knew he’d written it. His appearance then, was a pleasant surprise. For this 21st anniversary run of shows, he embraces the role of the tired, weathered (and sexist) Rebel Leader with obvious enthusiasm throughout, and can’t help himself from ad-libbing his lines, peppering the script with acerbic asides about Brexit, rail strikes and the size of Curly Wurlys throughout. (“Right, I’ll get on with it now” he acknowledges with a laugh at one point). Though a veteran of the stage, Ben’s far from a seasoned theatrical performer, but the nature of his character lends itself to his somewhat croaky vocal delivery and his charisma shines through, meaning he holds his own with some really strong performances from his fellow cast.
Not traditionally a musicals fan, I’m similarly not a fan of ‘musicals’ voices, though I’m aware of why they’re so important in the medium – not just to carry, but also convey the drama and emotion of the performance. Lead couple Ian McIntosh and Elena Skye
(Galileo and Scaramouche respectively) both delivery excellent vocal performances, displaying range, contrast, subtlety and bombast in equal measure. Indeed, it’s going to be a daunting task for anyone to replicate the vocal performances of someone who in my mind was the greatest rock frontman who ever lived. Sure, some of the lines they deliver are cheesy, but there’s an acknowledgement of this in Elton’s script, so you always get the feeling that he knows this is the case, and a wry footnote delivered by another cast member is never far away.
A great performance too from stand-in Killer Queen Jenny O’Leary, who stepped out of the ensemble cast to take centre stage for our performance. Repeatedly wheeled in and out on her huge Mad Max-esque throne, she belts out memorable tunes and commands the stage simultaneously giving off a distinctly S&M vibe that’s used most effectively in the gloriously tongue in cheek Fat Bottomed Girls. She’s ably aided by her on-stage side-kick and now stage veteran Lee Mead (Wicked, Joseph and Casualty) who stomps around in his matrix trench coat, sun glasses and New Rock boots as her right-hand man and enforcer Khashoggi.
The stage set throughout the performance was sometimes colourful, sometimes bold and sometimes brooding and though it relied a lot on projections, there were nevertheless plenty of 3D features, from twisted fences and ruined facades to a Harley Davidson and of course, an actual guitar! On that note, special mention has to be given to the excellent band who managed to replicated Queen’s carefully-crafted compositions masterfully throughout.
Yes, the whole thing was completely daft but I sang along, swayed my arms and enjoyed every minute nonetheless!
Simon Lee Author 