Since this is a music blog I thought I'd review musicals on this blog, being to do with the fact I have loved musicals from a young age and still love them now; last night my sister and I took a trip to Southampton's greatest theatre where all the huge productions take place and this was The Mayflower. I have been going there since I was very young so I am very familiar with it's grand yet warm cosy atmosphere, attentive staff and excellent facilities. Last night the production We Will Rock You was on at The Mayflower.
Once my sister and I were shown to our seats we were ready to watch; we both watched eagerly as the smoke machienes were being tested and the lighting guys took their places. Suddenly the lights went down and the disco balls lit up; we then saw infront of us a brief music timeline of events such as The Beatles conquering the US in 1964, Mr Blobby reaching number 1 in 1993. Then came the future dates such as Radio 1 playing their last non computer generated tune and music instruments being banned; this was an excellent way to set up the story of the musical. Everyone wears the same clothes, thinks the same thoughts and listens to the same music in this story since Planet Mall, formerly Earth, is run by the main antagonist, Killer Queen, so any kind of individuality shown she tries to crush. Rebels Galileo and Scaramoosh try and break free from this conformist society by wearing different clothes and expressing their opinions; they arrested for doing so but escape and set out in the world to find out who they are. They come across a rebel tribe, who call themselves The Bohemians, who are after the ancient texts of rock and roll that can liberate the planet.
I loved how each Queen song was used to tell part of the story and some parts changing some of the words to fit the story; for instance the song Killer Queen, the line 'spoke like a baroness' is changed to 'emailed like a baroness'. The characters all had very strong personalities and the actors portrayed those very well; particularly Scaramoosh, Brit and Killer Queen, I thought they were all very well recieved by the audience. There was a standing avation at the very end of the show of course; it was that amazing. I also loved the audience participation in the final three songs, whether it was waving your arms in the air to We Are The Champions, rocking out the We Will Rock You or singing your heart out to classic Bohemian Rhapsody.
Overall a fantastic evening and possibly one of the best things I have seen on stage so far.
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