‘Killer’ Queen Musical takes over Opera House

This week the eternal lyrics of Queen descended on the Grand Opera House, unleashing the spirit of Freddie Mercury and the rock and roll star that lives inside all of us. 4 stars.

(Image: AGT Theatres)

You may think a musical written by a 80s rock band, set in a rock-and-roll-less dystopia about a kid named Galileo would seem too wacky for this world. And yes it is!

In fact, the We Will Rock You musical experience manifests all the wacky and wonderful notes that make Queen’s music so head-bangingly epic to listen to in the first place.

Set in an entertaining comedy about a futuristic Earth where rock music is long exiled, and the pop-based music of the internet reigns supreme, the set, costumes, and performances all fully embody the joy, spectacle, and magic of classic Queen performances.

The set is simple but effective, with wonderfully dramatic lighting design materialising a full rock concert right in the old theatre.

The costumes are just as incredible. Each character is effectively brought to life through a cool mix of 80s glam rock get-ups and symbolic stars-of-rock-and-roll-past tributes. The colour, the swagger, the style! Seriously, just go for those great costumes alone – you’ll want to take them all home!

The musical boasts an array of badass characters – including a band of rebellious Bohemians, an army of pop robots, and a villainous Killer Queen.

Leading the cast is Freddy Mercury doppelganger Galileo, played by Ian McIntosh who was consistently brilliant throughout. His finest moment, however, was his impeccable imitation of Freddie’s iconic “The note heard around the world”, which prompted audience participation and immediate goose-bumps. Balancing Galileo is the Brian May-esque Scaramouche, performed by Elena Skye, who truly possessed a badass vocal performance and equally badass character arc. But the stand out performance comes from the Killer Queen, Jenny O’Leady, whose ‘killer’ voice echoed through the rafters and threatened to shatter the old brick ceiling in an attempt to speak through the stars to Freddie himself.

The rest of the equally talented cast were wonderfully entertaining, and the ensemble really brought some immensely energetic choreography to life – to the extent that the whole audience was buzzing to join in!

My one minor critique is in the plot itself. The creative narrative is interesting enough, but in typical jukebox fashion is simplistically orchestrated around the songs. But gosh were those songs worth it. Plus there was a real live Queen-level rock band accompanying all the songs and executing some truly smashing guitar solos. Worthy of Queen themselves.

We Will Rock You is an epic compilation of all of Queen’s greatest hits – including ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’, ‘We Are The Champions’, and of course ‘We Will Rock You’ – written into a fun story that draws on their powerful lyrics and the rock-tastic heart and soul of what this band means all these years later.

Not only will you leave the theatre singing and headbanging all the way home to ‘Bohemenian Rhapsody’, but you will leave reminded of why the world fell in love with Queen’s music in the first place.

So get on down to the Opera House for a rocking, Queen-packed night, because “the show must go on”! (Sung in dramatic Freddie fashion of course.)

We Will Rock You is playing at the Grand Opera House York Februrary 15-19.