Dominion Theatre where the show has been running since 2002
It turned out ‘We will Rock You’ was the perfect musical choice for me. I have long been a Ben Elton fan (his writing not his acting) ever since The Young Ones and Blackadder days. I was one of those people that watched Stark more than once as well. This was laced with the same kind of humour and pop culture references that litter Elton’s work and also as many references to Queen as he could jam in.
It followed the story of how two misfits – a boy and girl – saved the world from the banality of the Killer Queen and her mass-produced banal Radio Ga-ga (300 years in the future) by playing real music on real instruments (a topic close to my heart). And it was amazing how many songs they managed to shoe-horn in. Highlander got another Guernsey with ‘Who wants to live forever’, the intro to ‘Flash Gordon’ featured in a mind control scene and they even managed to get ‘Fat-bottomed girls’ in there. [‘Another one bites the dust’ – Queen – this was my introduction to Queen and still remains one of my favourite songs. Queen have long been out of favour with those that are cool but there are some great tunes amongst their catalogue. And throughout my lifetime, through many different Queen fans, they have provided a soundtrack to various parts of my life. I have had more than one boyfriend who favoured Queen.]
My favourite bit was in the names the rebel Bohemians had given themselves, after rock stars. There was a guy named Madonna, complete with conical bustier, a girl named after Freddy, the female lead, Meat(loaf), Bob the Builder and the leader, which got a lot of laughs for their misinterpretation of history, was called Britney Spears. They also had a bit of a tribute to ‘Only the Good Die Young’ which mentioned Buddy Holly, Kurt Cobain and of course Freddy Mercury, amongst others.
The Dominion Theatre, one of the West End’s biggest, was one of those old style theatres with leather seats that folded up (I was seated in the stalls), a balcony and really ornate boxes in the wings (like the ones on The Muppets). I giggled my way through the three hour show (there was an intermission). It was definitely a good way to spend my birthday eve. I had thought about seeing a band while I was in London but hadn’t seen anything that appealed to me – it was a Monday night after all – and decided a west-end show was a quintessential London experience. Besides I have the V Festival to look forward to. Yay! Madness! I have been looking at flights to go to at least one sideshow (as I have just had five weeks off, I need to schedule around work) but I’m not sure my bank manager would like that very much.