We Will Rock You - Platinum Entertainment (7 July 2023)

Before we begin, some context - Queen was one of the formative bands of my youth. We're talking the early eighties so the albums The Game, Flash Gordon soundtrack and yes, the oft derided Hot Space (Cool Cat featuring a beautiful falsetto by Freddie is still one of my favourite Queen songs) were my introduction. I listened to them via a strange plastic device called a cas-sette which often required maintenance using a pen-cil. They were simpler times. I quickly discovered the rest of the catalogue including the terrific Live Killers double album before growing with them into their later work. 

All this is to say that if you're going to mount a musical using over twenty songs from one of the most theatrical of all rock bands then who am I to argue? Certainly, you can approach We Will Rock You as a pseudo concert as hit after hit are performed with lyrics and riffs that have entered the public consciousness long ago. However, this show at the Regal Theatre in Subiaco not only honours the music but also that sense of theatricality and flamboyance with a no expenses spared, stunning production. 

The multilevel set is spectacular - framed by a lattice of metalwork that invokes the sense of a mainframe which is germane to the plot, such as it is. Overhead is a circular metallic structure that holds a whizzbang array of state-of-the-art lighting technology augmented by other lighting sources. The curved back wall/screen of the stage is used for rear projection of various locations and visual effects with startling clarity and occasionally live video images of the performers. It reminded me in some ways of a theatre version of The Volume, famously used in The Mandalorian to recreate immersive worlds. 

To add even more flavour there is a revolve with a separate outer ring to give momentum and movement to sequences as if the choreography and physical performances aren't already enough. Then there's the costuming which is suitably bright and gaudy with no sequin spared for our Killer Queen in particular. In short, the show is a visual treat. 

The sound quality is also incredibly high with crisp vocals and a good balance between performer and a white-hot band (Chris Travaglini, Glenn Hogue, Shayne Savic, Jon Clements, Manoli Vouyoucalos & Kieran Murphy) who were in fine form. The show is LOUD as befits a band of Queen's rock and roll stature so sometimes dialogue during the raunchier numbers is harder to decipher. 

Which brings us to the plot. In the future, where music and personal expression has been banned, the Global Soft corporation fights the Bohemians until a chosen one, Galileo Figaro, who hears the old songs in his head, um, rediscovers rock and roll through the power of Queen's music. Or something. It doesn't really matter and pretty much all pretence of a coherent storyline is abandoned when we get into the homerun stretch of three of Queen's biggest hits so by that stage the audience is clapping in time and stomping their feet so who cares? And clap and cheer they do including a spontaneous call and response sequence which highlights the ubiquity of Freddie Mercury's iconic live performance style. 

Ben Elton's updated book mines most of its comedy from references to well-known lyrics from a wide array of artists; the use of famous musical names in strange ways for odd characters; and a lack of understanding of the old ways and technology. The performers sell it and Luke Hewitt (Buddy) especially makes great hay in the latter stages of the second act with a knowing wink and nod.  

To the performances and from the start let me say the singing talent on display is exceptional. No one is going to mimic Freddie Mercury's legendary vocal range but Nicholas Cruse is a hell of a likeable Galileo and belts out a Queen song with gusto including the immortal number that closes the show. He works well with Kelsey Skinner's feisty Scaramouche and the show finds its groove in the first act with their duet of Under Pressure. They also share another highlight with Who Wants To Live Forever in the second act. The 'quieter' songs were often more notable for mine as they carried greater emotional heft. 

The other significant pairing is standout Holly Denton (Oz as in Ozzy Osbourne) and Courtney Murphy as Brit (as in Spears). It's an odd duo which is why it works so well. They rock out to I Want It All and Denton nails No-One But You as a lovely tribute to those rock stars who died far too young including Australia's own Michael Hutchence. 

A gloriously vampy Dean Misdale makes an indelible impression as Killer Queen including a killer stretch in the second half with Fat Bottomed Girls, an unfortunately truncated Don't Stop Me Now (though what a note by Blake Williams that indeed stopped Misdale in his tracks), topped off with Another One Bites The Dust. Take that as a triple threat! Indeed, it's such a good sequence that the show falters somewhat with the subsequent Hammer To Fall and These Are The Days Of Our Lives marking time even though the latter is a strong vocal moment for Hewitt. The aforementioned Williams plays the henchman of the piece as Khashoggi who can also belt out a song when called upon. 

To top things off there are a host of dancers, notably the Gaga Kids who open each act with Innuendo and One Vision respectively, and the Yuppies who bring a little sass and slinkiness to numbers such as Crazy Little Thing Called Love.  

In all it is a cracking evening's entertainment which had the audience on opening night begging for an encore. The applause was deafening when their wish was granted in the only way possible. 

Directed by Trevor Patient (who also did the lighting design), with Musical Direction by Chris Travaglini, Choreography by Una Genuino & Ashleigh Perrie, Artistic Director & Costume Design Katrina Patient, Sound Design Jordan Gibbs, Visual Effects Design Rory Henderson, and Wig Design by Axel Richards & Dean Misdale, We Will Rock You runs until 15 July at the Regal Theatre.

Darren the Explorer - Fringe World 2016 (23 January 2016)

This show is to Play School what Avenue Q is to Sesame Street. That is to say it’s a modified children’s concept where political correctness was not only barred from entering the venue but was told to fuck off downstairs and wait in the car for an hour. It is lewd, crude, breathtakingly non-PC, and a hilarious pisstake of early morning children’s shows.

The story is simple – Darren (Luke Bolland) wants nothing more on his fourth birthday than for his parents to get back together and for his father to say he’s proud of him. To do this all he has to do is go on an adventure to find the magic lamp of Northbridge and make a wish. In this quest he is assisted by a couple of sidekicks – Shoes the talking monkey (Jez Watts) and Pam the Map (Dylan Dorotich). Shoes hates Pam with a passion so their non-stop bickering is in direct counterpoint to the cheesy sort of camaraderie you would usually find in a “kids show”.

Obstacles are put in their way mainly in the form of Stealy the Dingo (Sarah J Christiner) who covets the lamp (and pretty much anything else he can get his puppet hands on) and a set of challenges. These involve visiting a strip club, surviving a knife fight in Northbridge and finding a homeless man (Glenn Grimwood).    

The humour is not for the faint hearted with some very blue jokes on a range of contemporary subjects. Bill Cosby and Taylor Swift are among the more notable targets. There are plenty of sight gags – one involving a ping pong ball that was laugh out loud tasteless – and in the show I saw a ‘prop malfunction’ that had Watts struggling to stay in character at the absurdity of it all. There is also pungent commentary on the overly bogan aspects of Australian culture and a riff on the city of Adelaide that is relentless. There are questionable jabs at abortion as Shoes deals with the unexpected pregnancy of Shirts the stripper; while in the best Avenue Q tradition racism is given a subverted treatment.

The show swings for the fences and is unapologetic in its brand of humour which is offensively funny. But that is the beauty of the premise – couching such barbs in the cloak of a childhood format makes the content so incongruous that you can’t help but laugh while also potentially questioning why you are doing so. It’s one of those gloriously squirm inducing experiences as an audience member.

Bolland plays Darren with straight forward earnestness that provides the foundation for all the craziness that swirls around him. He’s at his best when asking the audience what they think of certain situations or to answer questions in mock educational style. The dead pan style works a treat. By comparison, Watts gets to riff with an energy and malicious glee that is infectious. Dorotich is the good natured target of derision that acts as a counterweight to Watt’s malevolence.

Christiner plays a less than useful barman (to their quest) with some truly crude jokes but it’s her work as Stealy that reverberates in the bigger scheme of the story. She also has a bizarre knife fight with Grimwood who provides the glimpse of a moral compass before being seduced by thoughts of an irresistibly exotic locale.  

Director Levon Polinelli keeps this all moving along briskly while incorporating some backing video animation and the inclusion of music by Courtney Murphy. The songs are again a subversion of typical children’s sing-a-long fare with satire (We’re Singing a Song that Rhymes) and vitriol (You’re the Worst).

If you like your comedy barbed, very dark, and flirting with being truly offensive then this show is going to be right up your alley. Don’t be surprised though if that alley is a vomit filled laneway in Northbridge full of disreputable characters who will steal everything you own to pay for a trip to Adelaide.

Written by Luke Bolland, Directed by Levon Polinelli, with Music by Courtney Murphy, Darren the Explorer is on at the Noodle Palace until 6 February.