Review: The Enduring Popularity Of The Music Of Queen Is Celebrated In WE WILL ROCK YOU, The Futuristic Fable Championing Free Thought And Live Music

Friday 12th February 2021, 7:30pm, Riverside Theatres Parramatta

WE WILL ROCK YOU, Ben Elton's (Book) jukebox musical tribute to iconic British rock band Queen is given the Packemin Productions large ensemble treatment under director Wayne Scott Kermond. Merging design inspiration from earlier staging of the work which first premiered on the West End in 2002, the rock concert energy is combined with the underlying warning of the dangers of allowing technology and authority to override independent thought and individual creativity.

For those unfamiliar with the work that originally garnered a Laurence Olivier Award and two nominations for its original London production and 5 Helpmann Awards and 4 nominations for its 2004 Australian premiere season, WE WILL ROCK YOU is set in a dystopian Orwellian future where people are controlled by technology and free thought and creativity, particularly real music created with instruments, is banned. While it does contain a standard crowd-pleasing teenage romance trope where the good looking cool but dopey and somewhat misogynistic bad boy falls in love with the intelligent, pretty, feminist misfit girl, its underlying message on the dangers of the internet, technology and corporations enforcing conformity remains strong. Recent high school graduate bad boy who calls himself Galileo Figaro (Toby Francis) is hearing lyrics in his head but does not understand their meaning beyond the understanding that he does not want to comply with Globalsoft Corporation's rules of conformity, believing there is more to life than what is fed to iPlanet's citizens through electronic devices. He meets a young goth styled girl, who he decides to call Scaramouche (Kelsi Boyden), who similarly does not fit in with her white-clad and blonde bobbed classmates, the GaGa Kids, and the two seek a world away from the Globalsoft's control as they go on the run from Killer Queen's (Debora Krizak) ruthless henchmen, led by Khashoggi (Cameron Shields), finding equally rebellious "Bohemians" that are searching for the fabled lost Rock and Roll.

The design for work seeks to recreate a traditional rock concert stage with a series of exposed lighting gantry frames. Echoing earlier incarnations of the work, stairs lead up to a raised stage behind which spans an LED screen. The sterility of the spaces that Globalsoft Corporation control is defined by the absence of set dressing in contrast to the Bohemians' "Heartbreak Hotel" Tottenham Court Road tube station hide out which is littered with the relics of the world Globalsoft is trying to obliterate. The images on the LED screen reinforces the world of the GaGa kids school and the control inflicted by Khashoggi's henchmen with artwork that looks remarkably similar to the 2016 production which is somewhat ironic given the show's message about creativity and originality. The screen also provides a less prominent backdrop for the Underground station as an additional backdrop of a train carriage creates the limited space of a station platform. The costuming, designed by Audrey Currie, remains true to the character brief that has Galileo in dirty grey sleeveless t shirt and jeans and Scaramouche restyled into a corset and short skirt and trademark purple locks. The uniformity of the Gaga Kids is presented as variations of casual clothes in white indicating that even though they all want to conform and be the same, there is still an undercurrent of individuality trying to creep through. The styling for Killer Queen's minions fits with earlier designs of the show with the lingerie clad dancers looking like extras escaped from a production of Chicago, complete with Fosse inspired actions which, which, when paired with the directorial choices made for Killer Queen, lead to a somewhat disconnected expression of the leader of the new world order where individual expression is being erased. The design for the Bohemians draws more on the character's namesakes for all but Buddy (Wayne Scott Kermond), Brit/Britney Spears (Eamon Moses) and Oz/Ozzy Osborne (Emma Mylott) which is a deviation from the premise that they have little information about what music and rock and roll is.

Phil Goodwin's lighting design does well at turning Riverside Theatre into a rock concert with spots and strobes reaching out into the auditorium. He aids the shifts in settings, from multiple prison 'cells' to the shallow space of the underground station and shifting sunlight of open plains. Chris Neal's sound design hampers much of the performance however with body mics picking up too much air, muffling the text and sound balances bringing in the band, positioned behind the LED screen, in with overpowering sound levels leaving the singers to need to start strong with nowhere to go and forcing the singers to often oversing instead of delivering the requisite emotion and texture. Whilst the songs utilized in the show are rock songs, the sound design needs to understand that the work is first and foremost a musical trying to tell a story, not simply a rock concert.

Packemin Productions deliver a Pro-Am blend of performance with established professionals and theatre college graduates often in the core roles, supported by a substantial army of eager amateur performers that vary in training and experience. WE WILL ROCK YOU naturally draws on an older ensemble than some of Packemin's other productions leading to generally tighter choreography and musicality than the productions that include younger cast members. The 38 strong ensemble make for a good expression that humanity has survived even if the underlying civilization has devolved into a frightening future. The directorial choice to have much of the ensemble and supporting character accents delivered with Australian accents in comparison to Queen's origins as a British band and the story's London setting does lead to an odd expression with the Australian accent changing the cadence of songs and dialogue wandering between British and Australian.

Of the lead performers, the standout is Toby Francis's portrayal of Galileo. Francis captures Galileo's inquiring rebellious nature with a cool dismissiveness towards the establishment. His vocals express an understanding of the lyrics in the context of how the songs are being used to progress the underlying story, ensuring that he makes them his own rather than simply trying to present a concert replication, which also serves to make the character more endearing. He has a natural affinity for rock both in physical style and vocal passion while still ensuring that the lyrics are understood, and that the musicality is maintained even at the music's most intense. His stagecraft and understanding of his equipment mean that he is the only lead to realize the issues with the body mics as he manages his sound projection to avoid picking up the muffling punctuations of air. Additionally, while other characters are presented with an odd blend of Australian and British accents, Francis has chosen to portray Galileo with an American accent and of the entire cast, he is the only one that manages to stick to his accent choice through the entire show.

As Scaramouche, Kelsi Boyden relaxes into the role and she has strong vocals although she is hampered by the sound design that starts most songs too loud, forcing her to stretch to sing over the band. Boyden has picked an odd blend of East London and working-class Australian accent which varies with no explainable trend which makes trying to define the character difficult at times. Eamon Moses and Emma Mylott deliver strong supporting performances as Brit and Oz respectively, managing well with the limited character scope. Wayne Scott Kermond's Buddy is somewhat overplayed and while his These are the Days of Our Lives is presented with a good balance of sensitivity and showmanship, the choice to have him appear to have misogynistic and lecherous towards Scaramouche and Galileo, who are meant to be teenagers, feels off. Debora Krizak and Cameron Shields presentation of the evil Killer Queen and her enforcer Khashoggi feel overplayed without nuance leading to an impression that they don't connect with the characters and thereby diminishing their impact and implied power.

With a strong leading duo, this production of WE WILL ROCK YOU is a good chance for fans of Queen to experience several their songs interpreted in a musical theatre context. Hopefully the sound balance issues, and accent anomalies will be sorted as the season progresses.

https://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/wewillrockyou/

Photos: Grant Leslie