Everybody's Talking About Jamie 👠

#PRInvite #Gifted | Everybody's Talking About Jamie has arrived in Aberdeen's His Majesty's Theatre this week, back due to HUGE demand!

Star rating: ★★★★

He’s got the dreams, he’s got the style - and the second UK Tour of ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ definitely has the moves to make you smile. This new British musical strutted into His Majesty’s Theatre last night after an electric run here in Aberdeen 3 years ago. ‘Jamie’ is based on the true story of Jamie Campbell - a Drag Queen at 16 - who wanted to wear a dress to his school prom. The show goes against the grain in more ways than one: steering away from a typical LGBTQ+ victim story, and instead exploring and reflecting intersectionality in society. The show is woven together by the beautiful relationship between mother and son - as Jamie’s mother protects his naivety from the outside ‘ugly world’. As Jamie says it, sometimes “life kicks you between your balls, so you stick your best chuffing frock on!”... but I think Jamie’s choice of words were a bit more colourful.

‘Jamie’ combines traditional musical theatre ballads with modern, pop anthem music. The choreography by Kate Prince MBE was refreshing and elevated the show’s feel-good atmosphere. It is rare to see the contemporary dance style in musical theatre - with the ensemble numbers, as well as partner work, complimenting the piece well. The stand out from the creative team, though, is Dan Gillespie Sells who wrote the music and orchestrations, married together with Tom Macrae’s book and lyrics. The musical scoring includes many earworms; and in a change of tone for Act 2, it handles the transition from fun and lively numbers into quite sombre and distressing songs well. These allow the audience to feel the beat, but also an array of emotions whilst following Jamie’s journey from being a sixteen-year-old school boy to a budding drag queen in Sheffield.

Stepping into the shoes of Jamie New is Ivano Turco. Hot off the heels of seeing Turco in his West End debut role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Cinderella’ - this was a casting I was genuinely excited to see here on tour. Vocally, his performance was exceptional, adding a new taste to the contemporary soundtrack. Demonstrating clear musicality, Turco’s take on the score caught the seasoned ‘Jamie’ viewer by surprise, but kept the delivery of the music and lyrics meaningful. Jamie’s energy was matched by the studious Pritti Pasha - an unlikely companion for a budding drag queen - played by Talia Palamathanan and this dynamic duo were 'beautiful' to watch.

Rebecca McKinnis brought grit to the production as Margaret New - Jamie’s mother. Aberdeen audiences are lucky to experience McKinnis in this production, following her run in the same shoes in London’s West End. Again, another powerful vocal performance here, breaking the audience’s heart with ‘He’s My Boy’ - a song which never fails to make my body physically tense. The raw character of McKinnis was balanced with fireball Sejal Keshwala as Ray who adds to the comedic timing of the show, and who gives Jamie some tough love when he needs it the most. Together, this pair highlights that family cannot be always be chosen - and that sometimes blood is not, in fact, thicker than water.

Into the Spotlight comes Sam Bailey - winner of The X Factor in 2013 - as Miss Hedge. Following a career as a prison guard before her rise to fame, Bailey was a perfect fit for playing a strict teacher, and I loved her take on ‘Work of Art’ particularly. Kevin Clifton, from Strictly Come Dancing, was an impressive Loco at times, but I do worry that there was a lack of authenticity with his performance as the Legend of Loco Chanelle.

The one problem with this show is that some elements still feel unfinished, despite the musical running since 2017. Some of the scenic changes could be slicker and less visible, and some characters need fine-tuning. The character of Miss Hedge is a problem at the book’s roots, where sometimes it is difficult to distinguish whether she is a character you should support or despise. This is largely due to a lack of variation between her character and the learners she sings and dances alongside to a similar beat. Though this is not a fault of Bailey’s portrayal, the audience may question whether Miss Hedge is ‘down with the kids’ or not because of this. However, it was also refreshing to see the show as normal - without any alterations for social distancing and no reference to lockdown or masks like last time. Talk about a progressive society!

‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is a show that raises spirits, breaks hearts and rebuilds them again. This is the show we need right now - not only for representation of gender identities, but for celebrating inclusion, divergence and acceptance. Anyone who leaves the theatre at the end, worrying about the possibility that a boy may want to wear a dress to his school prom instead of a traditional suit, is silly in my opinion. With breath-taking performances and electric energy, Aberdeen audiences will want to catch Jamie New at HMT in time before he takes the bins out.

Credits

Instagram links: @theatregramuk, @aberdeenperformingarts, @jamiemusical

Review by Joel Simpson cc: theatregram@gmail.com

Production photos supplied by Aberdeen Performing Arts