We Will Rock You

With 144 cast members (by my best count), We Will Rock You, currently playing at His Majesty’s Theatre would have to be one of the biggest shows to hit Perth in recent times.

Big, bold, brassy and loud, We Will Rock You by Queen and Ben Elton is constantly updated to stay relevant to audiences and it remains as fun, vibrant and topical as it was when the show first played in Perth in 2004 - when some of the cast were not yet born.

Lots of passion from the supporting choir and the large ensemble, all of whom were well drilled, highly focused and supremely energised. Great choices were made for the leading actors, all of whom delivered.

I am sure that many in the audience would turn up to see Normie Rowe simply stand there - but he brought more than just presence to ‘Buddy” with a beautifully rounded performance. 

Courtney Murphy’s Britt was excellent - working perfectly with the lovely Paula Parore, as Oz, whose characterisation and vocal performance is outstanding.

Chris Murphy as Macca led an exciting “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and his appearance in the finale is worth waiting for.

Dean Misdale, perhaps better known as his alter-ego Feminem, is the first performer world-wide to play Killer Queen as a drag role. It adds an extra edge to her power and he delivers a ‘killer’ performance. His partner in crime, Khashoggi, is played with strength by Ryan Dawson.

Blake Williams is an earnest and likeable Galileo Figaro and anchors the show well. Holly Denton rocks out beautifully as Scaramouche in an impressive portrayal.

Nice work in smaller roles from Jessie James as The Teacher, the Teen Queen quintet (Andrea Lim, Hayleigh French-Bluhm, Amber Radalj, Madelaine Batten and Rosie Dagless on Opening Night) and the Barbershop Boys (Ash Schofield, Bill Nicol, Dan Milgate and Andrew Milner).

An industrial set employs effective projections and the large trap is used nicely. Leah Andrews’ costumes are cleverly eclectic and well considered. Lighting is exciting as designed by Franz Jansen - with a rock concert vibe, and sound balance appeared tight.

Annie Quinn’s choreography felt original and inspired and was very well executed throughout.

The six piece rock band, led by Frank La Cava, seemed to have authentic rockers and sounded great.

A high energy production that is exciting its audiences. Opening Night included presenting a large donation to the charity Heart Kids, proving that this production 'has heart' in many ways.

Kimberley Shaw