Review: We Will Rock You, Playhouse

Published on Tuesday 10 November 2009 08:31

We Will Rock You ***** Playhouse

COULD We Will Rock You be the ultimate Juke Box musical? It's certainly got the credentials. The music is supplied by Queen, the book is by Blackadder co-writer Ben Elton and Robert DeNiro had a hand in its production. With a plot so ludicrous it's thinner than the back of Baldrick's britches, there's plenty of room to cram 32 of the supergroup's hits into the three-hour spectacular.

Yet the thing that really stands out is that guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor aren't above making the odd appearance themselves. While Benny and Bjorn sit at home counting the profits from Mamma Mia's recent celluloid outing and Rod's too busy swanning round LA with the latest Mrs Stewart on his arm to check in on Tonight's The Night, Queen popped by the Playhouse last night for a bit of a knees-up at the end of the show. And they were spectacular. Which can only be described as somewhat of a slap in the face to the hard work and dedication put in by the talented and energetic We Will Rock You cast. It wasn't simply that May and Taylor stole the show, they brought with them an enervating magnetism and sense of engagement with the audience that had somehow been lacking in the rest of the production.

Perhaps the fault lies with the tinkering that has taken place with opening song Radio Ga Ga, wrong footing the audience and preventing them from singing along with the lyrics. There was certainly a sense of disengagement about last night's audience that was perplexing. The show's production values are staggering; the choreography is by dance doyenne Arlene Phillips, Tim Goodchild's innovative costumes range from retro punk to raunchy rainbow brights, while Willie Williams' lighting set up can only be described as beyond dazzling.

The cast's vocal performances are assured. Former Coronation Street star Kevin Kennedy gives an understated and appealing performance as Hippie librarian Pop in These Are The Days Of Our Lives is a revelation. Taking the lead as Galileo Figaro, Australian Michael Falzon is striking, Sarah French-Ellis is great as the feisty, no-nonsense love interest Scaramouche, but leaving the other performers for dust is Brenda Edwards as the blousy, breathy Killer Queen. Her rendition of Don't Stop Me Now would have given Freddie Mercury a run for his money.

For all that's right, though, a disconcerting sense of irony pervades the show. Ben Elton's Orwellian, homogenised, X Factorfied dystopia is jarring, particularly when you consider that this is amusical cashing in on people's desire for nostalgia. The storyline is predictable, the leads are young, beautiful and in love and we all know the songs by heart, making it all seem a bit, well, manufactured.