Everybody’s Talking About Jamie At Birmingham Alexandra Theatre Review

Reviewed by Lindsay Burton

After the long awaited return of our much loved theatre shows, the day finally arrived to make my way to Birmingham Alexandra Theatre for Everybody’s Talking about Jamie!

From the second the music started, every single member of the audience was immersed in this feel-good musical which focuses on a small-town British kid with an eccentric dream and the tenacity to make this dream come true. Unlike most of the students in his form, 16-year-old Jamie New knows what he wants to be when he grows up: a drag queen. And unlike most of the magnificent aspiring female impressionists who’ve sashayed on-stage before him, he has remarkably few challenges on his journey. Jamie has an accepting mom, an understanding best friend and a school full of narrow-minded peers who don’t take too long to come around, which makes this glittery big-screen adaptation of 2017’s well-liked West End tuner an unusually festive event.

“Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” is to queer teens what “High School Musical” was to, well, their more closeted peers: a buoyant, be-yourself pep rally for self-questioning young adult audiences.

“Jamie” will make its debut on Amazon Prime instead (on the 17th September 2021 – THIS FRIDAY), following an ebullient outdoor world premiere at Outfest, where a field full of gay (and gay-friendly) grown-ups united over a movie the likes of which didn’t exist when needed most and very much should have!

Set in Sheffield, England, this working-class fantasy blends a “Billy Elliot”-style struggle with the vivacious vigour and colour of mid-’90s misfit indies such as “Muriel’s Wedding”. If you thought life for a mining-town ballet dancing boy was tough, imagine diva style singing in six-inch heels – damn Layton Williams, this talent surpasses the capability of most women I know!! It’s funny, it’s simplistic and it all works out a little too easily, but its very existence remains a cause for celebration. And get this: It’s all based on a true story, as captured in Jenny Popplewell’s hour-long TV portrait, “Jamie: Drag Queen at 16.” So if everything seems like some kind of fantasy- feel fairy tale, think again. “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” sounds awfully similar to “Prom,” since the musicals’ lead characters are striving toward the same goal: persuading a prudish educational setting to allow queer students to attend an LGBT-inclusive prom. In Ryan Murphy’s movie, a lesbian wanted dance with her girlfriend, the way straight couples can, whereas here, Jamie daydreams of showing up in a frock. But that’s pretty much where the comparisons end, since the stage versions of the two projects were gestating concurrently and neither could really be accused of stealing from the other.

In the world we live in, you have to be an unbelievably resilient man to go out dressed as a woman. But as “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has demonstrated, fierce drag queens don’t just exist. They have to start a journey, which makes this a relatively common origin story: a drag princess’s big debut — with an extravagant and tremendously game Shane Richie delivering extraordinary support as the boy’s mentor, local drag legend Loco Chanelle. The UK tour of “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” was directed by Matt Ryan, composed by Dan Gillespie Sells (lead singer of the Feeling) and book and lyrics writer Tom MacRae. The UK tour stars Layton Williams as Jamie New. A tall, slender young man with sharp features and an intense gaze that breaks the fourth wall from the first scene, staring directly out into the audience and engaging them from the get-go, Williams has the self-confidence to play one of the most unapologetically queer characters ever to appear in a film of this stature.

At Jamie’s school, everyone wears a boring blue uniform, which no doubt feeds the character’s desire to don the sparkling red heels he gets as a sweet-16 present from his mum, Margaret (Amy Ellen Richardson). Jamie stuffs the shoes in his backpack — a flashy bit of personal flair that proves he’s not trying to blend in — and shows them to Muslim bestie Pritti Pasha (Sharon Phull), who has her own outsider issues in the conservative community. Pritti’s bewildered at first, but quickly accepts Jamie’s explanation of himself as “a boy who sometimes wants to be a girl”.

The songs are nearly all effervescent, look-at-me numbers projected for Jamie and those closest to him and which director Ryan presents with choreography by Kate Prince. The set design was fabulous and well thought out and props were fabulously incorporated in every scene.

The surest sign of progress here is that Jamie’s greatest obstacle is his internal conflict. Granted, not everything’s a piece of cake for this kid, but Margaret’s so encouraging that it offsets his homophobic dad (Cameron Johnson), school bully Dean Paxton (George Samson) is easily put in his place, and even the school’s tough-cookie careers counsellor, Miss Hedge (Lara Denning), doesn’t seem especially committed to enforcing the rules. I think the only scene I would love to be incorporated is Jamie’s debut in Legs Eleven with a support act by Laika Virgin (JP McCue), Tray Sophisticay (Rhys Taylor) and Sandra Bollock (Garry Lee).

Some lovely vocals from all cast members and, regardless of the technical blip during the first act (handled exceptionally well), I was swept away in the emotion of it all! Lots of laugh out load and cringe worthy jokes, this was such an entertaining show. Oh Layton Williams, you are a sweet dish of something else! This show is simply a must see!

Rating:  I give it a well-deserved 5/5.

Tickets start from £13 and are available to buy here

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