Last week I was delighted to be invited to the press night of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at the Theatre Royal in Brighton. As a long time fan of musical theatre and a regular visitor to the theatre Royal in Brighton this was such a treat! It’s such a beautiful theatre and over 200 years old making it one of the oldest theatres in the country. It has so much character and charm but I do also find the seats very comfortable here and the stalls in particular have a good about of leg room.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a musical that has been on my list to see for a while now and I purposefully hadn’t watched the movie version beforehand as I knew I’d prefer to see the show first. I was a little familiar with some of the soundtrack though.
*all production photography c/o Matt Crockett*
About
Jamie New is a sixteen year old high schooler living in Sheffield and he secretly dreams of becoming a drag queen and being in the spotlight. His only supporters being his Mum, family friend, Ray and best friend at school, Pritti. Having to deal with prejudice, school bullies and the distain from his estranged father.
The core message of the story, I feel, is about figuring out who your true self is and stepping into that and celebrating it in spite of what the bullies and the haters may say. It’s a very empowering message. Complete with eyelashes, glitter and sky high heels of course!
The British musical is inspired by the true story of Jamie Campbell and his Mum & Nan. A BBC documentary aired about him in 2011 and by 2014 the musical was opening. It then hit the West End in 2017 and the show has continued to grow more & more in popularity.
The Cast
Ivano Turco as Jamie - I remember seeing online that he’d performed in Cinderella opposite Carrie Hope Fletcher and heard him on the soundtrack so I was excited to see him starring as Jamie. He brought such a sweet kind of charm to the role, enviable hair and so much glamour!
Shobna Gulati as Ray - She stole every scene she appeared in, for me! I believe she plays the same role in the film version so I’m excited to watch her in that now. Having watched her in Coronation Street for years it felt a little surreal to watch her perform live. She was absolutely hilarious and perfectly cast in this role.
John Partridge as Hugo/Loco Chanelle - I was so excited to see John Patridge on stage! I’ve seen him appear in many things on TV over the years but never live in the theatre. He did not disappoint! His character is larger than life and he gave an absolutely unforgettable performance, particualrly as Loco Chanelle!
Hayley Tamaddon as Miss Hedge - Having seen Hayley perform on Dancing on Ice and in Emmerdale I was really looking forward to seeing her on the stage and she was fantastic! Miss Hedge is definitely not the most likeable character but she brought a lot of humour and some fabulous dance moves to the role.
Rebecca McKinnis as Margaret - Out of all the performers in the cast it was Rebecca who made me really emotional. She plays Jamie’s Mum and her incredible rendition of He’s My Boy made me shed some tears.
Talia Palamathanan as Pritti - I absolutely fell in love with her character, she was so adorably awkward and her performance of It Means Beautiful was a highlight for me!
The whole cast were incredible and I enjoyed all the little moments and interactions that just added to the whole performance. During the interval some of the cast playing the students perched on the desks on stage and chatted in character which I thought was a nice little immersive touch!
Songs
I think my absolute favourite songs were: The Wall In My Head, The Legend of Loco Chanel, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and It Means Beautiful. Plus I have to give a special mention to He’s My Boy because Rebecca McKinnis absolutely KILLED that song!
Final Thoughts
I absolutely loved this show. The story, the songs, the costumes and the cast all blew me away so I highly recommend seeing it if you can.
I couldn’t think of anything better to brighten up my rainy autumn night in Brighton than an evening at the theatre seeing this vibrant, sparkly, joyful musical! I came out feeling very happy and uplifted.
The UK Tour of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is playing at the Theatre Royal in Brighton until November 11th and then touring around the country. You can find tickets here at ATG Tickets. The Theatre Royal in Brighton have many other amazing musicals coming soon too including: Six The Musical, Sister Act, An Officer and a Gentleman and Bonnie and Clyde as well as plays, comedies, ballets and more.
*I was invited to see this musical by Theatre Royal Brighton however all opinions and comments are, as always, my own.*
