QUEEN and Ben Elton’s smash hit musical We Will Rock You is back for 2022, celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new tour arriving in Southampton later this month.
With the original writer of We Will Rock You and godfather of stand-up comedy Ben Elton back in the Director’s chair, it will rock Mayflower Theatre from August 16 to 20.
He told the Daily Echo: "I can hardly believe it’s been 20 years since We Will Rock You premiered in London. Or that much of what we thought was science fiction in the script back then has turned into science fact! I guess Queen were always ahead of the game!
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"I’ve directed this show all over the world and I’m thrilled to bring it home to the UK with a brand new production and a fabulous cast of young Bohemians, most of whom were rocking in their cradles when this adventure first began.”
The musical extravaganza featuring 24 of Queen’s greatest hits, has been watched by over 16 million people in 19 countries.
We Will Rock You is set in a dystopian future where Earth is called Planet Mall and its inhabitants wear the same clothes, think the same thoughts and exist in a brain-dead haze. This system forbids musical instruments and composers, whilst rock music is all but unknown. The musical tells the story of Galileo, Scaramouche, Killer Queen and the other Bohemians on their journey to discover the Holy Grail of Rock and restore the free exchange of thought, fashion and, most importantly, live music.
Equally as impressive as the show created from their musical canon are Queen legends themselves, Brian May and Roger Taylor, who had early reservations about staging a musical.
“We were not initially convinced, not being fans of the musical theatre genre on the whole,” says Brian. “The show needed to work in a theatrical context and retain the rock, whilst also incorporating the spectacle, uniqueness and humour embodied by Queen.”
We Will Rock You undoubtedly blends all of these elements and, as Ben intended it to be received, Roger describes the show as “silly, but funny and making quite a lot of serious points while it goes on its rather daft course”.
Tickets from mayflower.org.uk
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