By Charl Reineke
This fantastic musical will certainly rock your world. A rework of Queen's music, written and scripted by Ben Elton in conjunction with the original members of the rock band, “We Will Rock You“ is set in the not too distant future on I-planet (originally known as earth), where music has been outlawed and forgotten.
Dreams and strange desires, and a few obscure lines left behind from that musical era, resurface in the mind of a prophesied Dreamer (Galileo Figaro), played by Stuart Brown, who feels that he is different and needs to Break Free from Global Soft, the ruling regime in this time.
The story progresses in a wonderful way, incorporating the songs of Queen to full effect, awakening the Bohemians.
This group of rebels, who escaped to the Heartbreak Hotel in the wastelands, believe in a secret axe hidden in a rock that will bring about the revival of free-thinking, fashion and live music (in this case, Rock and Roll).
They hold a relic (a video tape) of the bygone era but have not been unable to unlock its secrets - yet.
The creative use of sets, space and lighting, along with great costumes, breathe an almost magical quality to this musical.
Without giving too much away, there is great humour and music, and I am so proud to see the wonderful talent that South Africa has; they can indeed stand up to any other country’s talent.
I have to mention that Danelle Cronje, who plays the character of Oz (one of the rebels), has a most phenomenal voice - and I could see that the audience was blown away.
The head of Global, Soft Killer Queen (Londiwe Dhlomo), Scaramouche (Nicoletee Fernandes), Buddy (Tiaan Rautenbach), Brit (Richard Gau) and Khashoggi ( Craig Urbani) all have such amazing voices that even Queen themselves would be proud at how the superb rework and reinterpretation of their unforgettable music was sung.
The show runs until June 4 at Artscape in Cape Town and is certainly an absolute must- see show on anyone's theatrical calendar this year.