| Review URL | NODA |
| Date | 12th April 2022 |
|---|---|
| Society | Hayling Musical Society |
| Venue | Hayling Island Community Centre |
| Type of Production | Musical |
| Director | Kim Budd |
| Musical Director | Tom Davison |
| Reviewer | Mark Donalds |
“We Will Rock You young@part” has been adapted for youth theatre from the West End hit “We Will Rock You”, based around the music of rock group Queen with book by Ben Elton. It is set in a computer-controlled dystopian future where music is banned, and the plot is as thin as tissue paper and clearly flags up each Queen hit well before it starts. But who cares when you’ve got such fabulous music to listen to! Audiences quite rightly ignored the critics’ damning reviews to make the original show a big hit.
For my first visit to Hayling Youngstars (the youth section of Hayling Musical Society), it was pleasing to see such a large audience eagerly awaiting the start of their first show since lockdown. We were not to be disappointed.
Zachary Gillam and Bali Sherrington gave us two strong leads as Galileo and Scaramouche, with powerful singing voices and good stage presence. Zachary particularly, seemed to relish the role of exuberant showman, keeping our focus very much on him whenever he was singing. Daisy Harkness seemed totally at ease with the role of Killer Queen, commanding the stage whenever she was on and exhibiting a fine, powerful singing voice. Finlay Harkness really enjoyed the baddy role, strutting his stuff around the stage as Khashoggi. Adrianna Luckos, Libby Day and Jenny Lawley gave them good support as Oz, Bubs and Buddy respectively and it was indeed a team effort with, what appeared to be, a cast of thousands filling the stage with their energetic singing and well executed choreography. Everyone on stage seemingly having the time of their lives, the whole cast working together as one.
The set was sensibly kept very simple with impressive projections on the screen at the back and some roll-on pieces of scenery to add atmosphere. I was particularly impressed by Killer Queen’s magnificent throne. Costuming such a big cast must have been a daunting task (sadly no credit in the programme), but it was well done, with simplicity the keynote for the ensemble and colourful, punkish costumes for the principals, with some wonderful wigs. Along with Tom Chandler’s impressive lighting, we were left with many memorable images from the show.
The eight-piece band under MD Tom Davison produced just the right “Queen” sound and, thanks to good control from the sound desk (Sean Ridley), they rarely overwhelmed the singers, who all came across very clearly, even the smallest voices – quite a feat in this hall renowned for its poor acoustics.
What a wonderful come-back from the adversity of the last two years. Your audience certainly showed its appreciation at the end, in no uncertain terms. A huge well done to everyone involved with this marvellous show – you really smashed it!