We Will Rock You!

The stage show "We Will Rock You" Queen & Ben Elton is now playing at the Regent Theatre in the heart of Melbourne. Recently I went to see it, and I was blown away...

(No spoilers in this review.)

The first thing that struck me was the theatre. The Regent, in the heart of the city (Melbourne), was closed for many years. It was by all accounts a glorious theatre in its heyday, and it has had a very checkered past. In the 90's it was renovated and restored to its former glory. And glorious it is! There is an interesting history with many pictures available that show the old and new theatre, as well as some detail about the Wurlitzer organ installed there.

We had a drink in the foyer, then went in with th bell. We had amazing seats (middle of the stalls, 7 rows back) thanks to Mum who did the booking. The seats were very comfy and we had plenty of leg room. As the photos above show, the interior of the theatre is gorgeous. We settled in and very soon the show began.

The story was written by Ben Elton, in collaboration with Queen who adapted the music. Hit after hit from their phenomenal repetoire is weaved into the storyline. The story is set in the far-off future (although not so far off in many respects) where culture is homogenised, and music is a plasticised mass-produced product controlled by Megasoft Corporation. Instruments are outlawed, but there exists still an underground group known as the Bohemians, who still remember Rock. (Well, sort of.)

The writing is snappy, there are plenty of gags, black humor, cultural references, and lots of piss-taking of the industry. When Elton isn't being wry or cynical, he is painting a picture of a society we could well find ourselves living in the future. The signs are already here, with boy-bands, media control, corporatisation of entertainment, software monopolies... The dystopia is not as far off as people might like to think. Or maybe they don't, and that's the problem.

Anyway, the music is fantastic. Strong performances by virtually all the cast, and a live backing band who are obviously long-time Queen-heads. I was expecting to be disappointed, but the music really did (for the most part) do Queen's oeuvres justice...

The staging was just as impressive. The sets were cleverly designed, with impressive lights, lasers and huge digital screens with 3D animations and so on.

So I guess it is an all-round crowd pleaser. If you like Queen's music at all, you will love the show.