We Will Rock You – Dominion Theatre 17.05.2014

My very last ever “We Will Rock You” at the Dominion – that day definitely came way too fast. It had been my very first show back in 2008, and since then, had always been my absolute favourite. But even if people will slaughter me after reading this: I wish my very last memory/experience of this show would be the Cast Change on October, 5th, 2013, and not this show. The reason for this is simple: the Cast. I am not someone to slate new Casts when I see them first, when I am used to an old Cast, because I know it’s all hard work and a tough job to step into big footsteps, and everyone deserves a chance. Maybe I expected too much from my last show, as I already walked down the aisle to my seat with tears in my eyes. But from the beginning.

I arrived in London at 12pm that day, and my friend Sarah had told me that if I wanted to catch Oliver Tompsett & Katie Paine before the Matinee to give them their farewell gifts, I should head right down to the Dominion. Safe to say I rushed into the tube to Piccadilly Circus with my heavy suitcase and the bags, and from there, ran for my life, as it was getting later and later and people seem to love stepping into my way as if they had no care in the world. Thankfully, I reached the Theatre just in time, because after 5 minutes, Katie arrived, greeting me from afar, hugging me and apologizing for not replying to my tweet that morning, asking when she’ll arrive. She then told me that Olly would probably be already in, as they had rehearsals at 1pm, so I did not only give her her own present (she was absolutely taken aback, thanked me a couple of times and told me what a very nice thing to do it was), but also the one for Olly, which she promised to give him. Before she went inside, she asked me where I was sitting in the evening show, and when I told her that I’d be seated in C20 in the Stalls, she smiled and said she’d wave at me from the stage. Such a sweetheart 🙂

First thing that shocked me when I got into the theatre that evening and checked the board – Rachael Wooding (Scaramouche) wasn’t on. Safe to say my heart sank, because I couldn’t have imagined a better Scara to end on than her. Plus, the actual cover, Catriana Sandison, wasn’t on, either, as I noticed when the show started – after the Matinee, she had felt poorly and Sophie Ayers had to jump in, and apparently, the Dominion Staff hadn’t had the time to change the board (which is not a big deal, really, just confusing 🙂 ). Thankfully, the wonderful Oliver Tompsett was on as Galileo, and that was the thing that mattered to me the most.

When the show started, I was already in tears. During every song, every scene, the fact that it would be the last time I see them was in my head, and it broke my heart. What I noticed pretty soon was that since the Cast Change last October, they had changed a lot of the script, which was confusing at first, as I thought maybe the Cast had forgotten some of their text (which is highly unlikely, as they know what they do, but they’re just humans, after all), but as the changes kept happening, I realized it were no mistakes – which I didn’t like, to be honest. For me, it felt like some of the jokes were taken away (like when Olly/Galileo tells Sophie/Scaramouche that he had been tweeting the entire time – what was left out at that point was him saying “Only important stuff, what I had for breakfast and stuff”, which is basically the thing that makes this scene work the most!). Plus, for someone who knows the show by heart, it’s a confusing thing, it actually made me feel like I haven’t seen the show in years instead of only 6 months.

Now to the Cast. I feel bad for stating my opinion like this, but I have to say that from all the different Casts I have seen over the last couple of years, that one was the weakest for me. Not the “old” ones (Alasdair Harvey, Oliver Tompsett, Brenda Edwards & Katie Paine), but the “new” ones. Maybe it’s like I said, I was used to the 2012/2013 Cast, they grew to my heart, and with them being gone, it was bound to be different. But the voices weren’t giving me goosebumps, to be honest. Amanda Coutts (Meat) was probably the one I was most excited about, as I heard a couple of good things about her voice and performance, and I was more than looking forward to her “(No-One But You) Only The Good Die Young”, which had always given me tears when the former Meat, Rachel John, had sung it. I have to admit, Amanda was okay, good, actually, because she has a lovely voice, and you can really see her talent shining through, you can see why she was cast as Meat in the first place. But it’s fair for me to say that she didn’t touch me inside my heart with her performance. Plus, maybe it was only me being spoiled by Rachel John & Wayne Robinson in the roles of Meat and Brit, but to me, it felt a bit cold between her and Rolan Bell, can’t put my finger on it. Rachel and Wayne always had a special connection, you just bought it that they were a couple madly in love, living for the dream of real music coming back one day. I just didn’t feel that about Amanda and Rolan. His voice was good, too, and I have to admit, it was way better than the one of Wayne when I first saw him in 2012, Rolan had much more strength in it, and he was able to sound louder than the orchestra. But I didn’t have that certan special feeling inside of my stomach that I can’t quite put my finger on.
Sophie Ayers (Scaramouche), what can I say about her? I think for people who know the show by heart, the role of Scara, and her songs, it’s obvious that she is the 2nd Scara cover. I’m not saying her voice or performances were bad (because they weren’t, none of the new Cast one’s were, if they were, they wouldn’t be part of the show, after all), but it’s just that she hasn’t got what Rachael Wooding displays in that role; one essential and important thing for me, personally, about this role is to hold notes for a bit longer than usual – especially during “Somebody To Love”. A powerful voice is what makes this song so beautiful, what makes the actor singing it grow to your heart. I am truly sorry, but that just didn’t happen for me with Sophie. I felt like something was missing. I can imagine that something like this can happen if you’re thrown onto a stage on such a short notice, you have to work in your role and work with the other actors on stage, and I know it must be difficult. And I am not saying that Sophie isn’t talented, because she most definitely is, and I can see how amazing she can be with a lot more stage experience as more than a 2nd cover, which I wish to happen to her. I just didn’t warm up to her as much as I did with any other Scaramouche I’ve seen on stage in my life.
The “old” ones were fab as always – I absolutely love how Brenda Edwards & Alasdair Harvey interact with each other on stage as Killer Queen & Khashoggi, there’s nothing like it, really. I know some people don’t agree on that, but for me, Alasdair is Khashoggi, he has been my first one and will always be my favourite; he lives the role. Brenda isn’t my favourite Killer Queen, I have to admit, but I have barely heard such a powerful voice on stage than hers, she just gives me the goosebumps whenever she hits the high notes.
And Oliver Tompsett…what a man, what a talent. I knew he’d blew me away once again, and it’s safe to say he was on fire that night. It doesn’t matter which song he sings or how dorky he dances, everything he does on that stage gives me the biggest goosebumps. Once again, from “We Will Rock You” until the end of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, he had me in tears, and during every second of these songs, you can see how much he loves playing the role of Galileo; to me, it seems like he is actually born for that role. He’s a limelight hog, he enjoys playing with the audience, he enjoys drawing them in, and his “Day-Oohs” are legendary. I have never heard a more powerful voice, or seen more talent on a stage than the one he has. He’s one in a million for me, and having him as my very last Galileo at the Dominion was more than a gift for me. It’s too sad the show is closing in a few days, but I think it’s safe to say that it couldn’t end on a better Galileo Figaro than Oliver Tompsett.

The Stage Door afterwards was barely busy, which surprised me, as it was a saturday and it was getting closer and closer to the end. Thankfully, a lovely woman from Norway stood with me, so I wasn’t completely on my own. I got to talk to the ones I wanted to – Olly & Katie, mostly,- got my pics and therefor, wonderful memories. Olly said he was sorry for it having been my last WWRY show, and he and Katie thanked me again for my gifts, gave me a couple of hugs and were generally the most lovely people you can ever meet at a Stage Door.

I also got a few words with Amanda Coutts, Alasdair Harvey & Brenda Edwards, and I had a funny moment when Alasdair signed my ticket book. Apparently, he had put his autograph into it, writing a bit over the one Olly had written down just moments before, and he apologized, and I told him I didn’t mind, which came out a bit like “Oh, never mind, it’s just Olly!”, and Alasdair pulled a shocked face and went “I’m going to tell him that!”, which was hilarious, as I know he was joking (I had never seen him anything else than serious at the Stage Door before, so that was a nice thing 🙂 )

All in all, yes, I was a bit disappointed by my last show, which was probably my own fault due to high expectations and a lot of emotions inside my body, sue me. But seeing all the familiar faces one last time, talking to them one last time and properly saying goodbye to them was all that mattered. And to everyone in that Cast/Show, I hope they’ll continue to do amazing things, to improve their talent, and to have a bright future!