We Will Rock You At Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Review
Reviewed by Hilz
It Rocks!!! They Rocked us!!! So good I want to see it again already!!! From the first scene to the last this was excellent. The plot of the story is set in the future in a time where everything is online and virtual with no face-to-face friendships. When it was written nobody knew that we were going to go through a global pandemic with lockdowns – and so there were strange parallels to the various unwelcome restrictions we’ve had to live with on and off over the past two years which were poignant and reflective. Having said that, Ben Elton’s tongue in cheek, superficial and light-hearted story, made to fit the wonderful Queen hits together, was still absolutely hilarious after all these years.
Not only that, but he has updated the jokes to incorporate life as we know it now, and in some ways this was really funny indeed!
Standout funny moments, like when the young leads Galileo and Scaramouche fall in love and move towards the bed area, saying “we should use protection“ – and then getting out face masks!!! Brilliant! The show got the balance just right – that of humour coupled with the amazing songs of Queen, amazingly performed. The acting was also superb – particularly Scaramouche and Cliff plus one or two others. Absolute standout performances were by Killer Queen and Khashoggi. Killer Queen owned that stage by herself. I could’ve listened to her and watched her all night. Her voice is incredible! – Powerful, expressive, beautiful, and with a wide vocal range. Certain songs such as “the show must go on“ and “don’t stop me now“ (still laughing!) were real scene stealers and her chemistry with Khashoggi was delightfully funny. She had it, she knew it, she gave it, and we loved it!!! (It was lovely at the end by the way as during the applause she only took a small bow and moved away from centre stage quickly – obviously so as not to distract attention from the two young leads – that was very humble, and very worthy)
The dancing was really good and it was great to see a couple of more mature dancers in the troupe – very inclusive – it’s not all about the youngsters now is it! It was also great to see different shapes and sizes represented in really positive ways. Again, particularly Killer Queen who was large and sassy and a hugely positive female role (okay, if a bit evil as well!) Scaramouche, a rebel, was also a really good strong female role. She had many of the best one-liner jokes written by Ben Elton. Her comedic timing was impeccable. She was the perfect foil to Galileo‘s self-important and self-indulgent male pride. Lots of good jokes, and many using the names of popular songs in the dialogue – so good! Scaramouche’s first solo “somebody to love“ set the bar for the excellent quality of the singing – top class.
Another standout performance was Meat singing “only the good die young“ – later we found that it was the understudy playing the part of Meat – you would never have known – she is a star in her own right. The song felt like a tribute to all those artists who have died too young. And it was wonderful that this has been updated to include those like Amy Winehouse. It felt like it was giving an opportunity for people to grieve the loss and show their respect – well done – it felt moving and appropriate. Another standout performance was Cliff singing “these are the days of our lives“” – he really was a great performer in every respect.
The band we’re just out of this world! Great to see them initially in the stage backdrop and make a connection there.
When they came out to bow at the end it looked like there were only five of them – incredible and the electric guitarist who did the solo during “we are the champions” really made that instrument sing! Fabulous!!! My companion found this particularly moving – it brought back memories for her of times when she sung that song before – for example at the end of university and when her favourite Formula One team had won – I’m sure many people were feeling the same – remembering those highs that still mean a lot. Another absolute standout song was “we will rock you“ near the end – Wow! The majority of the audience were participating in clapping and hand raising to the beat. It felt wonderful.
Of course it finally ended with “Bohemian Rhapsody“ – how else could it have ended? Enrapturing. Most of the audience were on their feet whooping cheering clapping and giving a massive standing ovation – we hope that the cast realise just how fabulous they were and just how much joy they have brought to everybody. What else can we say – the lighting and backdrop were very good – great in fact. The set was very good. The costumes were impressive as were the quick changes that the cast had to do and it was really good at the beginning when we had a recording by Ben Elton telling us both to switch off our mobile phones and NOT to sing along! People don’t want to hear you they want to hear the fantastic singers on the stage. Well said! – It’s the worst thing when somebody near you is singing along and wrecking it for you – well said Ben!
On a small note about the venue, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre is lovely, and modern, and a really pleasant place to go. However, maybe because of not being able to get the staff – who knows – it was an issue to have to queue for nearly 20 minutes to get a couple of drinks at the bar at the beginning and it was also more difficult to park than expected. The ground level car park was full with a queue, and the multi-storey car park above Waitrose was almost full and had nearly a 10 minute wait to queue to pay for parking. Maybe a bit of a minor point compared to how fantastic the show was, but our recommendation is that you get there really early. We were there at 7 o’clock half an hour before the show was due to start and we would recommend you get there more like an hour before if you can.
Overall this is a totally wonderful performance and you must go and see it if you possibly can – very highly recommended! It will make you feel good!!!
Rating: 4.5/5
The show is on at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre from Monday 2nd to Saturday, 7 May 2022
Ticket prices start from £13 plus a transaction fee of £3.65
They can be purchased here:
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/we-will-rock-you/aylesbury-waterside-theatre/
Or call the box office on (020) 7206 1174