We Will Rock You celebrates 11 years
On Tuesday 14th May 2013 We Will Rock You the musical in London celebrated the incredible milestone of 11 years at the Dominion theatre in the heart of the West End.
The show in London has been rocking audiences at the Dominion now since 2002, and continues as the longest ever running show at the Dominion theatre.
The evening was tinged with anticipation from the start and this fabulous musical featuring 31 of Queen’s greatest hits did not disappoint. The cast gave an incredible performance spurred on by the knowledge that writer and director Ben Elton was in the audience, as well as producers Robert De Niro and Phil McIntyre.
Sadly Brian May did not make his customary appearance at these milestone events, both he and fellow Queen band member and We Will Rock You producer, Roger Taylor sent their apologies – they were needed elsewhere on the planet – but not the iPlanet.
We Will Rock You the musical has received some updates over the years, and writer Ben Elton keeps the gags fresh by including topical references. The story is set 300 years in the future and planet earth is now aptly named the iPlanet and Globalsoftware.com run the entire planet dictating what people listen to and what people wear. It is marketing and branding gone mad, which some people may say is already upon us, with reality T.V. talent shows and predictable music download charts dominated by the likes of Simon Cowell instigated acts such as ‘No Direction’.
Amongst the many are the few, rebels who want to make their own music and find the true roots of rock ‘n’ roll, they are just seeking an inspirational leader which legend as indicated is the one. Meanwhile amongst the college Gaga boys and girls there are two rebels without a cause, a naive young man named Galileo and a girl soon to be renamed Scaramouche.
Our unlikely hero and heroine are flung together after being singled out and persecuted by the thought police under the control of the villainous Killer Queen. Galileo and Scaramouche manage to escape and team up with the band of rebels known as The Bohemians. The are many laughs along the way as you would expect from a Ben Elton scripted musical, and some corny one-liners, but the plot speeds along to the accompaniment of one of the greatest rock sound tracks ever, including: Under Pressure, Headlong, One Vision, Radio Gaga, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Another One Bites The Dust, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bohemian Rhapsody and of course We Will Rock You.
The story-line isn’t the most sophisticated and it does lapse in to self-indulgence a little in the second act, and i feel that with some of the gags that maybe Ben Elton needs a writing partner to bounce things off of, as some of them certainly fall a bit flat. But overall We Will Rock You the musical is still after 11 years a great show to enjoy and one that most people will enjoy.
Ben Elton writer and director of the We Will Rock You show in London
Ben Elton looking distinguished in his greying beard made a celebratory speech, thanking everyone.
The after show party was as you would expect with copious amounts of alcohol and some naughtiness going on, but I’ll save those revelations for The Sunday People exclusive.
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