Wednesday 16th September until 31st October 2009 @ Hippodrome, Bristol

Ben Elton’s story is set some 300 years in the future on a planet ruled by the Big Brother/Sister combo of Khashoggi and Killer Queen where all musical instruments have been banned, Simon Cowell has killed the music industry and drones create mass packaged crap-pop: Sounding pretty familiar? However, legend has it that Queen have hidden some instruments that the resistance are desperate to find and use to unlock ‘real music’!

Essentially the show is a celebration of Queen and their remarkable gift to the world, linked together through the story and words of Ben Elton. Now sure, at times, the musical links and integration are tenuous but the script sparkles and the humour is well timed and effective. Don’t Stop Me Now, for me, was the highlight, tremendously well scripted, intelligently executed and exceptionally well acted. The lowlight unfortunately was the ending; the story simply stopped and the “concert” of last few songs began. It was a little abrupt and a few well-placed romantic clichés would have been great.

The show has been getting a very hard time in the London press but I couldn’t disagree more. You have to understand that the show is a musical and the two lead characters with amazing voices did Queen proud. In fact, unashamed praise should be heaped on the entire cast but a couple of particular performances that blew me away were from Jonathan Wilkes (Khashoggi) who held the stage like a real pro, the slow, smug, cheesy grin suiting his face and he knew exactly how to play the audience, and Brenda Edwards who played the Killer Queen; X Factor irony noted, she lived and convincingly embodied the role, was incredibly powerful and, in my opinion, stole the show. Also I had no idea who Kevin Kennedy was (or famously used to be) until I was sat in the bar next to him after the show; now that’s talent, very few people can break free of their ‘soap’ shackles. Finally and frankly, most importantly, the chorus held the entire show together; every scene they were involved in shone and their talent, to me, spoke volumes.

Would Freddy Mercury have been impressed? I’d like to think so. And as Brian May jumped on stage to join in with the last few songs, I’d like to think that he was playing just for us: A night to remember for sure. Not much has been said about Brian May making the show and of course it’s wonderful to be in the presence of extreme greatness, but We Will Rock You was strong enough without his shock appearance.

We Will Rock You was by far the most impressive event I have seen at the Hippodrome and certainly the highlight of this year, if not the decade, and as it’s now celebrating a year’s worth of standing ovations and a box office gross of more than £20 million, I guess I am certainly not alone in my thinking.

www.wewillrockyou.co.uk

Faye Westrop