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Theatre Reviews
We Will Rock You
Music: Ben Elton & Queen

DETAILS
The Dominion Theatre Tottenham Court Road W1 Wheelchair Access Tube: Tottenham Court Road	Performances Eves 7.30pm Mon-Thur, 8.30pm Fri. Mats Fri 5pm, Sat 3pm Duration 2hrs 45mins Prices UKP 21.50-UKP 42.50 Group Bookings 0871 789 1066 (uk) - 0044 871 789 1066 (non UK) within UK Office Hours

LondonNet Theatre Review
September, 2005

It starts as an epic journey, traversing through decades of rock music highlights and directs the theatregoer into an era of purely digitalized music during the year 3005. Interests mildly piqued and reminded of other futuristic journeys into outer space, I expected a choreographed light sabre sequence or a tribute to droids. I was (clearly) in the wrong theatre. Not only were there no robots, We Will Rock You descends into the most appalling rock clunker of them all – selling out to corporate rock. Like suburban teenage punks rebelling to Yellowcard and AFI, We Will Rock You tells the same anti-establishment story in the established way.

Galileo Figaro (played by Mig Ayesa) is lithe as a snake, making it clear early in the show that he’s the best vocalist and dancer. Wrapping his vocals and wiry frame in rock star abandon, Galileo is an endearing contradiction – an idealistic rock star. The rest of the cast served adequately in their parts. Some of the characters (Saramouche, Killer Queen, Britney) take some time to grow on you – if at all. Saramouche (Hannah Jane Fox) particularly displays a charming sullen snarkiness that provides the show with the most laughs.

The biggest disappointment is the plot. It appears as if the writers pulled the quickest route from A to B and decided to stop off for a few too many pints, halfway though; while the first half of the show makes a shrug at a plot, the second deteriorates into a random string of Queen’s best songs. Not that that the music, itself, wasn’t successful. Any musical incorporating Queen gets eight out of ten in crowd response, hands down. The wildly enthusiastic crowd response agreed as well, chanting to “We Will Rock You” and waving the glow sticks they bought in the foyer.

While the self-congratulatory attitude of Queen being “the greatest band of all time” gets tiresome in the end, the finale is worth the wait. The audience joyously sings along with the cast, the latter whom perform Bohemian Rhapsody with the greatest relish seen all night.

Queen has always shown unexpected gratitude to all their fans, performing outstanding free shows. Fans have always responded in kind and this time it’s no different. It would’ve been nice, however, if the added narrative link in this equation showed more creativity this formula.

Jackie Jou

In Short:
The Queen musical by Ben Elton and the band hits the West End...

In Full:

Everywhere, the kids watch the same movies, wear the same fashions and think the same thoughts. It's a safe, happy, Ga Ga world. Unless you're a rebel. Unless you want to Rock.

On Planet Mall all musical instruments are banned. The company computers generate the tunes and the kids download them. It is an age of boy bands and of girl bands. Of boy and girl bands with a couple of boys in them that look like girls anyway. Nothing is left to chance, hits are scheduled years in advance.

But resistance is growing. Underneath the gleaming cities, down in the lower depths live the Bohemians. Rebels who believe that there was once a Golden Age when the kids formed their own bands and wrote their own songs. They call that time, The Rhapsody. Legend persists that somewhere on Planet Mall instruments still exist. Somewhere, the mighty axe of a great and hairy guitar god lies buried deep in rock. The Bohemians. Is the one who calls himself Galileo that man? But the Ga Ga Cops are also looking for Galileo and if they get him first they will surely drag him before the Killer Queen and consign him to oblivion across the Seven Seas of Rye. Who is Galileo? Where is the Hairy One's lost axe? Where is the place of living rock?