Ian Waller and his daughter enjoy an evening of high camp, high spirits and lots of fun
Jamie didn’t want to be a fork lift driver. His dreams were more theatrical, more colourful, more exciting. You see, Jamie wanted to be a drag queen. The thing was, caught at a school in the North of England, facing exams and being told that his future was destined for work in the local factory, dreams of dresses, make-up and fame seemed like a distant fantasy.
And here is the premise of the wonderful evening of fun and being fabulous that is Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which is playing at the wonderful Bristol Hippodrome until 30 March.
The result is a high camp production, full of wonderful performances, great tunes and a central performance from Ivano Turco that will have you cheering him on from stalls to the royal circle.
Right from the start, the energy bounds out from the stage, with the superb cast taking on the school days of Jamie and friends with an exuberance that’s impossible not to love. The early scenes in the school room with Jamie and his peers are among the highlights of the show, with the impossibly talented cast, singing and dancing with eye-popping energy. The set pieces are wonderful to watch and you’ll soon be wishing that your school days were this much fun!
And in the middle is Jamie, openly gay and secretly planning not only his first move into drag stardom, but also an audacious plan to be the first boy in the school to wear a dress to the prom.
Throughout Ivano is joy a watch, exuding charm and a love for life, while also a great singer and dancer, particularly in a pair of bright red very high heels! The highlights of the show are with Jamie and his ever-loving mum Margaret (Rebecca McKinnis), forever supporting and encouraging her son despite the pressures from school and a useless, loathing ex-husband.
Similarly, Jamie’s encounter with former drag queen Hugo, wonderfully played by Kevin Clifton (yes, him from Strictly) are lots of fun, as well as giving us one of the best songs with the The Legend of Loco Chanelle.
However, while the show it fun – as the ever-excited audience showed with regular whoops and cheers – there is a problem. While it’s a good story, there’s not a lot of body to it. The result is that the plot is a little on the light side and some of the set pieces don’t really do anything to add to the meagre pickings.
But you know, the sell-out audience didn’t seem to mind. With boos for the baddy daddy, cheers for each and every the inspirational speeches and standing ovation at the shows finale, there was clearly plenty of people going home smiling and very happy, with no doubt a good few nights out to the local drag clubs to be booked.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie run at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday 30 March. For more information and to book tickets, go to https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/everybodys-talking-about-jamie/bristol-hippodrome/