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| "We Will Rock You" - Sydney cast |
Presented by John Frost and Associates.
Music and
Lyrics by Queen.
Story,
Script and Direction by Ben Elton.
Musical
Direction by David Skelton.
Set Designed
by Mark Fisher.
Costumes
Designed by Tim Goodchild.
Sydney
Lyric, Sydney until 26th June 2016.
Brisbane from 10th July 2016
Melbourne form 30th August 2016.
Brisbane from 10th July 2016
Melbourne form 30th August 2016.
Performance
on 11th May reviewed by Bill Stephens
Imagine if
you will, planet earth in 2306, now taken over by the corporation GlobalSoft and
ruled by Killer Queen (Casey Donovan) and her henchman, Khashoggie (Simon
Russell). Everyone wears the same
fashions, watches the same movies and thinks the same thoughts. Musical
instruments are banned and company computers generate tunes which everybody
downloads. Hits are scheduled years in advance.
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| The citizens of GlobalSoft We Will Rock You Ensemble |
Our hero, Galileo,
(Gareth Keegan) who is puzzled by the long lost pop and rock lyrics he hears in
his head, wants to escape this world. With the help of his cockney-speaking
girl-friend, Scaramouche, (Erin Clare), and encouraged by an old rocker, Buddy,
(Brian Mannix), he sets out on a mission to rediscover rock and roll.
Along the
way they meet up with a rebel tribe of bohemians, all of whom are named after
long dead pop and rock stars. These bohemians wear clothes made from scraps of
costumes once worn by these stars, including Madonna’s bras, a piece of Marilyn
Monroe’s dress, and one of Michael Jackson’s old jackets. Britney, (Thern Reynolds) and his girlfriend,
Oz, (Jaz Flowers) are the leaders of the bohemians who, on hearing Galileo
quote some of his lyrics, decide that he could well be the messiah who could
change their world forever.
It’s a
delightfully silly premise, but remarkably entertaining as updated by Ben Elton
for this production with wicked references to prominent contemporary
entertainers as historical artefacts, and given the benefit of dazzling
lighting effects, witty costuming, and energetic choreography, it serves pretty
well as a vehicle for a couple of dozen of Queen’s best songs, and provides a
marvellous showcase for some remarkable Australian talent.
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| Erin Clare (Scaraqmouche), Gareth Keegan (Galileo) |
Among them, Erin
Clare, who offers a thoroughly engaging performance as the prickly Scaramouche.
Clare not only possesses an appealing stage presence, but also the vocal chops
to more than hold her own in her duets with Gareth Keegan especially in “You’re
My Best Friend”.
Keegan
brings loads of sex appeal to his role as the slightly ditzy Galileo, as well
as an impressive voice well able to cope with the heavy-lifting demanded by the
slew of Freddie Mercury songs he tackles.
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| Casey Donovan as Killer Queen, and ensemble |
Casey
Donovan is given a great entrance as Killer Queen, then proceeds to chew up the
scenery with a delicious tongue-in-cheek performance that ensures that she’s impossible
to ignore as she proceeds to demolish “Killer Queen”, “Now I’m Here” and
especially “Fat Bottomed Girls”. She also demonstrates that she’s a dab hand at
handling snappy choreography in “Another One Bites The Dust”. As her sinister henchman,
Khashoggi, Simon Russell almost matches her at “evil sneering”.
Thern
Reynolds and Jaz Flowers both give scene-stealing performances as the
bohemians, Britney and Oz, while Brian Mannix is a completely charming presence
as the old rocker, Buddy.
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| Jaz Flowers (Oz), Thern Reynolds (Britney), Erin Clare (Scaramouche) Gareth Keegan (Galileo) and ensemble. |
Full marks
to the hard-working all-singing, all-dancing ensemble who cope with multiple
quick costume changes and demanding choreography with impressive aplomb, and to
the red-hot band, led by musical director, David Skelton which achieves a stunning recreation of the Queen sound,
which after all, is what the audience has come to hear.
Images: Jeff Busby.
This review also appears in Australian Arts Review. www.artsreview.com.au