We Will Rock You
I'm still tingling all over ;D. A wonderful show, full of sparkling energy - something you can appreciate
especially if you are a Queen fan. Not only, but the more you like their music, the better you'll like this ;D.
No wonder everyone wants to see it. Feli and I had to queue for tickets, got some pretty close to the stage, great
to actually see the details.
I loved them having "One by One (Only the Good Die Young)", the tribute song for Freddie Mercury in the show; it
was spine-tinglingly performed by a young woman (Meat; Kerry Ellis). I was, from the start, very happy with the
cast, all of them were fabulous vocally - however, the music was being blasted out so loud they were sometimes
drowned out by it. It also made it difficult to make out the lyrics, no matter how clear the enunciation and
delivery was. A pity, really.
There was quite a lot of techno feel - fancy lighting, video beamer… the orchestra sat on steel scaffolding on the
left and right side of the stage and two of the lighting technicians were in capsule seats on either side of the
stage 'frame', a good five metres above the ground.
Unlike with "Mamma Mia", the story wasn't predominant in my view. It was told only through the songs, little talk
in between. I thought it was tongue-in-cheek mostly; I'm not in favour of the blatant anti-globalisation
message the show seemed to be trying to convey. 'One world - one culture' is the futuristic world's downfall, no
positive outcome to be expected. I find that one-sided.
When they started on "We Will Rock You", the audience was up clapping. The 'encore' was a thrilling rendition of
"Bohemian Rhapsody", a song that I've only come to appreciate fully a year or so ago.
For all the fancy stuff around it, the spirit of the performance were Queen's music and lyrics. When you are engrossed
as much by the singers as you are by costumes and effects, you know a show's good indeed ;D.
Nick Crossley (Bill Bailey in CATS) was wonderful, he's such a cool dancer ;D - not that the rest of the cast wasn't
brilliant. Feli and I tried to spot him though, it was pretty hard in most costumes, but when he came out in the kilt
as one of the 'outcast group' (I think it's Cliff Richard), we did recognise him without a doubt. He seemed to enjoy
every minute, he was grinning most of the time.
Scaramouche (Hannah Jane Fox) was fantastic, not only did she have a strong voice, but also a great stage presence.
Wow. Tony Vincent (Galileo) was a show-stopper. The guy's absolutely brilliant - voice, mimics, performance. Since
his was the main role, it was an added bonus, of course. The duets with Scaramouche were especially wonderful.
And Meat (Kerry Ellis), who sang "One by One", her voice was absolutely haunting. She gave the song a life of its
own, so much emotion. Wow. Britney (Nigel Clauzel) *lol* And there I thought I'd never like Britney Spears ;D. He
did a grand job and like Pop (Nigel Planer) he was a treat.
STAGE DOOR:
Feli and I went to the stage door afterwards, the cast was out pretty quickly. Nick Crossley posed for a pic, and
kept telling us how awful he looked -- when we didn't believe him, he showed us a spot on his face ;D. I thought
he was adorable.
Tony Vincent -- very nice eye make up -- came out, saw us, smiled and greeted us as he walked in our direction.
He's a lovely guy, very soft-spoken (wouldn't guess that from his stage presence) and pleasant. He made sure
to pose for everyone who wanted a picture; I took one of him with Feli and when he asked me if I wanted one too,
I just couldn't say no ;D. He also gave us autographs, mine is in the brochure next to the "We Will Rock You"
slogan. Couldn't have found a better place ;D.
Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to me at
ferngully_at@yahoo.com.