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THEATRE REVIEW 
GENRE: MUSICAL/SCIENCE-FICTION
VENUE: THE DOMINION THEATRE, LONDON

DATE: FRIDAY NOVEMBER 10^th 2006

We Will Rock You succeeds as a fitting testament to one of music’s greatest rock icons. The glam spectacle of the setting is reflective of Queen’s dynamic front man and personifies the band’s intense energy even before the cast appear.

Written by Ben Elton and Queen, this musical delivers on a number of levels, while failing on others. The storyline lacks a certain level of dynamism, which given the genre, doesn’t necessarily ensure a theatrical disaster. Those responsible for the creation and production of musicals are somewhat excused from intriguing and riveting plots. The beauty of the genre, for directors, producers and writers at least, is the option to focus almost exclusively on the music to install a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction amongst the audience.

On the whole, the plot is rather lightweight. This leaves the music featured the only element able to provide theatre goers with a true feel good factor.

The year is 2306 and the location is Planet Mall. Those occupying the land are mere zombie-like clones, stripped of their individual identity and dominated by the almighty power of Globalsoft. These are times where music is nothing more than a digitally produced soulless form of ‘entertainment’, groomed by Globalsoft to tighten its vice-like grip over Planet Mall’s habitants. In addition to this, all musical instruments have been banned and the only force challenging this reign of repressive supremacy are The Bohemians; a group of old-school rock dreamers who refuse to buy Globalsoft’s product. As storylines go it’s not the most exhilarating. Corny clichés referring to sex and rebellion fail to add grit, limiting the possibility of the audience relating to the somewhat two-dimensional characters. While lead characters, Galileo and Scaramouche, played by Peter Johansson and Jenna Lee-James, are not found to be lacking passion and ability, their characters have been deprived of depth and personality. However, Elton does manage to provoke the audience to consider the state of the contemporary music scene. He clearly conveys the message that manufactured forms of music could very soon dominate the charts and limit the individual creativity of artists worldwide.

We Will Rock You sees Elton and Queen challenge the direction of modern day music. It also provides a satisfactory level of entertainment. However, the musical’s major downfall is the way it has been clumsily assembled. Bohemian Rhapsody, undoubtedly Queen’s signature track, was awkwardly crow-barred in at the end with no link to the story whatsoever. Surely such an important song should have been properly integrated into the story. When featured, the links from dialogue to song could also have been done with more decorum.

The musical manages to tick as many boxes as it crosses. Queen’s die-hard following will leave the Dominion satisfied, while more casual fans of the rock genre may find We Will Rock You something of an anticlimax. JG