There was a moment at the opening of this final show of ‘We Will Rock You’, the last in a run of a hundred at the London Coliseum, when I felt I was witnessing the start of an infinity mirror effect. Once the section of ‘Innuendo’ (performed live these days) was over, Ben Elton, scriptwriter, director and now also Rebel Leader at the centre of his own drama, mentioned the original staging of the musical at the Dominion Theatre, and how it was panned by critics. This latest realisation of the rock phenomenon is a reference to its predecessor in so many ways, but one that has moved on twenty-one years in time from the 2002 premiere, and is now framing it within the annals of prophecy carried into the dysfunctional future of the ‘iPlanet’. But still, the critics haven’t correspondingly moved on from criticising – and, as ever, miss the point: the viewing public may just like to come to the theatre for an afternoon or evening of live Queen greats interspersed with a little light-heartedness.
Certainly, the latter concept is true to the history
of the Coliseum itself. With its stately interior rising high to culminate in
that distinctive dome, it seems an unlikely venue for rocking insurgents to
pitch their cause. However, back at the turn of the 20th century,
its architect, Frank Matcham, envisioned a “people’s palace of entertainment”
to house variety performances. Furthermore, like the Dominion, where Freddie shared
the stage with Cliff Richard in a charity performance of the musical ‘Time’ in
1988, the Coliseum contains a little of the Queen lead singer’s history, too: in
1979, he performed with the Royal Ballet there (also for charity) involving
both the singing of and dancing to ‘‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing
Called Love’ - with Jamie Moses, later of the Brian May Band and Queen and Paul
Rodgers, playing guitar in the orchestra pit. In welcome contrast, for this ‘We
Will Rock You’ appearance, the musicians weren’t placed down in the depths, but
high on a platform rear of stage, where they were sometimes clearly visible, and
always, thankfully, just as audible – among them being birthday boy bassist Neil
Murray, a veteran of the Dominion shows.
The new location is unable to take advantage of an
underground station for the underground Bohemians: unlike the Dominion, situated
right on top of Tottenham Court Road tube, it doesn’t have one that nearby. In
many other aspects, though, the ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ is similar to its previous
counterpart, and many of the old gags about internet-generated uniformity are
replicated for this production. There are, however, some additional targets:
AI, virtual friends, and bots, as the twenty-first century continues to develop
the assault of cybertechnology at a cracking pace. The costumes are also a
variation on the previous ones, with the ensemble clad in a microchip design. Furthermore,
Ben doesn’t pass up on the opportunity to introduce other themes: the
environment, the trains, and Brexit, all with a satirical twist. Even the
pandemic gets a look-in, as Scaramouche and Galileo don surgical face-masks for
a kiss.
Talking of the romcom leads, Elena Skye and Ian McIntosh
transported us quizzically through their quest, yet at the same time making the
whole performance look effortless, and Brenda Edwards, a vision of blue funk as
the Killer Queen, excelled particularly on ‘The Show Must Go On’, brought in at
the end of the first half, whereby ‘Play the Game’ had been dropped from
earlier in Act 1. Another change from the original was that her devious lackey
Khashoggi, acted by Lee Mead, no longer got to interrupt her in the initial bars
of ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, but she sang it through in its entirety. Brit, played
by Adrian Hansel, presented as a kilted Highlander, displaying those slick
martial arts moves and a comparable vocal dexterity; and the role of his
marvellous match, Meat, was taken on by Christine Allado.
Towards the end, we were reminded - by an onstage
replica of the giant statue of Freddie that stood at the front of the Dominion for
its twelve-year run - of his mastery of Wembley Stadium, which was particularly
appropriate for me as I’d been staying the month in London next door to it! The
finale climaxed into the crescendos of ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We are the
Champions’, followed by the ever-remarkable rendition of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’,
today made even more remarkable by the emergence, to a terrific roar from the
audience, of Brian conjured into the multitude through the trap door as he
played the first solo. He then proceeded downstage to complete his part,
returning, of course, to perform the rock solo too, with a more conventional
onslaught from stage left this time. Such an appearance precipitates a range of
emotions – some joyful, some tearful, some plain surprised. I, who’d known that
he surely wouldn’t miss playing his part in this final show, just felt that I’d
been granted yet another bequest: as an early fan of the band as a London teen
in the seventies, I always remember having very much been there as Freddie’s six-minute
masterpiece took hold of our world, but also noting the cynicism of the music
press from the very beginning. In those pre-internet times, the critics were
already at it – that part of life hasn’t changed, although nowadays they
have to acknowledge, sometimes genuinely, sometimes grudgingly, that Queen’s music
is still so amazingly and worthily popular - despite every negative word
they’ve ever written.
And, as if to prove the point, on returning to my digs
near Wembley Stadium after the show for one last London evening, what could I
clearly hear through the window from the spectators at the ‘All Elite Wrestling’
event taking place there? Yes, of course…none other than a rousing delivery of
‘We Will Rock You’!
©
Alison Sesi, 2023
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