Tuesday, 16 July 2024

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

 Curve, Leicester

15th July, 2024


‘Out of the darkness into the spotlight’


Who knew Sheffield held such a wealth of musical theatre inspiration? Earlier this year we saw the stunning Standing at the Sky’s Edge, an ode to the city’s architectural and social history. But before that Olivier Award-winning show took the West End by storm, Tom McCrae, Dan Gillespie Sells and Jonathan Butterell’s heart-warming Everybody’s Talking About Jamie paved the way for Sheffield-based musicals. Clocking up over 3 years in the West End and now on its second sell-out national tour, Jamie has all the rough and ready wit and charm that cements it as a modern British classic.


The story is simple but effective. Sixteen year old Jamie New (Ivano Turco) longs to be a drag queen, an ambition he keeps secret from his classmates and his waspish teacher, who continually tells him to ‘keep it real’ while recommending that he pursue a ‘normal’ career such as becoming a fork-lift driver or prison guard. With the help of his selfless mum, studious best friend and a local veteran drag queen, Jamie fulfils his dreams, though not without hitting a few snags along the way.


While the musical’s themes of acceptance and embracing individuality are universal, it’s a quintessentially British show. Jamie’s glamourous fantasies are juxtaposed with the kitchen-sink reality of life in a working-class community, and the relationship between Jamie and Margaret is a touching and grounded representation of single-parent families. McCrae’s amusing yet low-key plot, coupled with Butterell’s simple direction, is one of the show’s selling points, as the emphasis is placed on small, everyday situations, based in a relatable environment. Jamie isn’t aiming for fame and fortune, he isn’t campaigning on a global scale, his goal and driving passion is his determination to wear a dress to his school prom. The scale is small, but the stakes are high and highly personal, making the final triumph that much sweeter. Hopefully every young person watching that has ever felt different, or had to hide their true self can identify with Jamie and find inspiration from his story.


Gillespie Sells’ music is catchy without being cloying, offering a mix of poppy bangers such as the title song, ‘Work of Art’ and ‘And You Don’t Even Know It’, interspersed with sweetly contemplative numbers like ‘The Wall in My Head’ and ‘It Means Beautiful’. Margaret’s Act 2 showstopper ‘My Boy’ is a tear-jerking and heart-warming ode to a mother’s unconditional love for her child, delivered with powerful emotion by Rebecca McKinnis. The domestic setting occasionally gives way to glorious flights of theatrical fancy, courtesy of the drag performers at the local Legs Eleven club. A particular highlight is the camp noir pastiche number ‘The Legend of Loco Chanel’, as Kevin Clifton’s Hugo has a blast recounting his alter-ego’s misadventures of old. Following his breakout success in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella, Turco makes a highly lovable Jamie.  He’s sassy without ever coming across as obnoxious, while also conveying Jamie’s vulnerability and self-doubt in a beautifully candid way.


Neither cynical nor saccharine, I have no doubt that Everybody’s Talking About Jamie will continue to delight audiences for years to come, and has hopefully paved the way for more home-grown musicals that celebrate the unapologetic joy of individualism within British culture. This week saw the announcement that Robert Hastie has been appointed as the new Deputy Artistic Director of the National Theatre. As Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, he’s overseen productions like Life of Pi, Rock/ Paper/ Scissors, and Jamie, all of which points to much promise for his time at the NT.


Everybody’s Talking About Jamie plays at Curve, Leicester until 20th July as part of its UK tour. For full tour details please visit: https://everybodystalkingaboutjamie.co.uk/

Ivano Turco (Jamie New) and Talia Palamathanan (Pritti) in Everybody's Talking About Jamie. Credit: Matt Crockett


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