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Ben Elton's revival of the Queen musical We Will Rock You is larger than life and pops with colour, so it finds a comfortable home in the vast, gilded surroundings of the New Wimbledon Theatre. Some first-night technical difficulties meant that the opening night began half an hour later than planned, but the audience's reaction by the end of the show indicated that it was well worth the wait.
As with many jukebox musicals - especially one dealing with an oeuvre as iconic and diverse as Queen's - the premise of the show is more than a little far-fetched. It's the future, and Earth has become known as "the iPlanet", where all original thought or expression, including music, is illegal. Citizens live their whole lives online and are presided over by Killer Queen, a computer game character who one day made the leap into reality and is now half human, half pixelated. Two young rebels called Galileo and Scaramouche escape the correctional facility that imprisons them, then discover a secret underground network of "Bohemians" who are trying to revive a little-known historical tradition called Rock 'n' Roll.
The show first premiered in 2002 and is back on tour just in time for its twentieth anniversary, after being cancelled two years ago by the coronavirus outbreak. However, an unsuspecting audience member could be forgiven for thinking this was a brand new musical, because the show is crammed with contemporary references. Elton has endeavoured to bring both his script and this production bang up-to-date for the age of the internet - and, yes, for the post-pandemic era too. There are a couple of coronavirus jokes, one of which is particularly well-placed and gets its own round of applause.
Indeed, the people of the iPlanet don't just exist in a dystopian future anymore, but are superfans of social media. The choreography in the opening number feels reminiscent of a TikTok dance routine, and at one stage the characters remark on the difference between Facebook friends and developing real relationships. It seems like a natural progression for the show and the concept works well in many places, but some jokes feel a little outdated by 2022: shouts of "OMG, WTF" and jokes about "tumblr-insta-snap-book-twit" have all been made many times before.
This production works best when it is at its most ridiculous, with fast-paced transitions, brilliant group dance numbers and jokes about four mysterious men from the past called "John, Paul, George and Bongo". It's a show that revels in blissful chaos, and the cast successfully keep up a self-deprecating air, but occasionally the joke is pushed too far for the sake of a quick laugh: references to The X Factor, #FreeBritney and the menswear section of M&S are funny, but ultimately don't make sense within the story and give the production something of a pantomime feel.
Of course, the soundtrack provides the bedrock of the show, and the musical performances do not disappoint. The group numbers like "Killer Queen", "Don't Stop Me Now" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" are completely joyous. Jenny O'Leary is nothing short of iconic as Killer Queen, commanding the stage in songs like "Another One Bites The Dust", ably assisted by a phenomenal ensemble who excel throughout. Adam Strong is a hilarious foil to O'Leary as Khashoggi, her ruthless but somewhat bumbling commanding officer.
The standout performance comes from Elena Skye as Scaramouche, who not only possesses an incredible set of lungs and does justice to such classics as "Somebody to Love", but steals the show with the cynicism and wit she brings to her character. It is initially harder to warm to Ian McIntosh's Galileo, but his exchanges with Skye bring out the best in both performers, and his renditions of such classics as "We Are the Champions" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" bring the house down.
The other stars of the show are the musicians themselves: musical director Zac Flis and his band take their rightful place on stage rather than in a pit, coming forward to deliver iconic guitar solos and so on. Indeed, the show is as stylised as a rock concert, with memorable and colourful lighting from designer Luke Rolls.
The set itself, designed by Tim Blazdell, is fundamentally a large scaffold onto which colourful animations and designs are projected throughout. These provide the look of a live gig and hint at the high-tech setting, but fall flat when they are used in place of physical pieces of set or backdrops. Regardless, the show is visually entertaining, made more so by costume designer Kentaur, who has dressed the cast in gorgeously fun, punky outfits with occasional nods to such legends as David Bowie and Brian May in the wigs and makeup.
We Will Rock You is, above all, an evening of riotous good fun that is sure to delight audience members with even the most limited knowledge of Queen's work. This modern classic of a musical isn't entirely at ease in an ultra-contemporary revival, but is nonetheless a thoroughly entertaining celebration of an iconic set of songs.
We Will Rock You is at the New Wimbledon Theatre until 4th June, then touring.
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