Skip to main content

Review of Everybody's Talking About Jamie at Milton Keynes Theatre

Everybody's Talking About Jamie first appeared back in 2017 as a stage musical with a score written by Dan Gillespie Sells and book and lyrics by Tom MacRae and co-writer/original director Jonathan Butterill. However, the beginning of this story, and the true story that it is, came to the public eye a little earlier with a 2011 British television documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16. This tells the story of Jamie Joseph Campbell (also known as Fifi la True) and his coming-of-age journey to the world of drag, and this musical inspiringly tells this tale.

Without hesitation and from the outset there is no question that Everybody's Talking About Jamie is an exceptional show. The key initial reason for this is that it has a stunning collection of songs, and what better requirement for a musical? It sets the benchmark high from the very beginning number and never drops in standard. Dan Gillespie Sells songs from start to finish are pure magic, be that a proud anthem (And You Don't Even Know It), a pure pop one (Work of Art) or a stunning, emotional powerhouse (He's My Boy), for a relatively new musical the collection is incredible. These are complimented with some brilliant lyrics by Tom MacRae and Jonathan Butterill and their genuinely funny and heartwarming book.

With a good show comes the requirement for an excellent cast to deliver it and this new UK Tour has an exceptional one. Jamie New himself is played with genuine love and drive by Ivano Turco. He does at times have such a softness of delivery that he can occasionally be difficult to hear and this does translate to some of the big numbers where he can be overshadowed by the music or fellow singers. However, it does sit well with the character as well and his early development comes through as he builds confidence. No question though, it is an amazing performance holding the show together throughout and commanding the stage.

If it is Turco's drive that gives the show momentum, it is Rebecca McKinnis who gives the show its heart, a tremendous beating heart of emotion. Her performance is incredible and in particular her two solos of If I Met Myself Again and He's My Boy. Anyone with a dry eye after the latter is made of strong stuff.

As Hugo AKA Loco Chanelle, Kevin Clifton is quite a revelation. Quite a departure from his cheeky clean-cut image from Strictly Comes Dancing, his swaggering sweary performance here comes as an initial shock. While you could quibble that he is far too young for the role, he still nails both the character and singing numbers, including a very good performance of the immensely fun The Legend of Loco Chanelle.

The entire cast is top-notch to be fair, with a minxy performance from Talia Palamathanan as "family member" Ray, and a touching performance from Talia Palamathanan as Jamie's closest schoolfriend Pritti. Jordan Ricketts plays the totally unlikeable Dean with total conviction making it a powerful character to its end. Finally of the cast, there is a great understudy turn by Georgina Hagen, on for the absent Sam Bailey, as Miss Hedge, this includes a great performance on the unbearably catchy number Work of Art.

Kate Prince's choreography is visually striking from up-to-date-in-your-face dance routines to sublime contemporary, every number has its own visual style offering great depth to the show. Designer Anna Fleischle has also created a sharp set with swift stylish set changes offering no delay to the show which director Matt Ryan keeps moving with flair.

Everybody's Talking About Jamie is simply a beautiful, captivating show, one of the very best of new musical offerings and deserves all the success it continues to have.

Joyous and uplifting, everybody should be talking about Jamie.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


Performance reviewed: Monday 10th June 2024 at the Milton Keynes Theatre.

Everybody's Talking About Jamie runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 15th June 2024.

For further details about Milton Keynes see their website at http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

Production photos: Matt Crockett


Popular posts from this blog

Review of Paranormal Activity at Milton Keynes Theatre

The low-budget film Paranormal Activity , first released in 2007, has since become the starting point of one of the most prolific horror series ever, with seven films now released in the franchise and another due next year. Its unique down-to-earth style of storytelling, inhabiting what is many people’s real life, with dangers within the house, has contributed greatly to its success. So, from one successful medium franchise, it is no surprise the series was developed for theatre in 2024, with a new story by Levi Holloway (though it borrows heavily from the original film). First performed at Leeds Playhouse before heading to both the West End and Broadway, and now, for 2026, a UK and Ireland tour, which this week arrives at Milton Keynes Theatre. So the question is: has the medium successfully crossed to the other side? Newly married couple, James and Lou, move from Chicago to London in an attempt to escape both of their past lives. However, as events begin to repeat themselves, they re...
Read more

Review of Barnum at Milton Keynes Theatre

Barnum , with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman, premiered on Broadway in 1980 and followed in the West End just a year later. At the helm for these two productions were two huge names in the entertainment business: Jim Dale on Broadway and Michael Crawford in the West End. It needed, of course, big names to fill the shoes of the legendary P. T. Barnum, whose tale is told in this now-fondly remembered musical. Filling these boots in this new production, now pitched at Milton Keynes Theatre, is Matt Rawle, a prolific theatre performer himself, but can he, and this production, live up to the iconic greatest showman? “Step right up and enter the dazzling world of P.T. Barnum, where imagination and ambition know no bounds”, the publicity for the show announces, and this new production of the now-classic Barnum - The Circus Musical mostly ticks these boxes. Rawle is a captivating and strong presence as the lead, bringing an infectious charm to the p...
Read more

Review of Annie at Milton Keynes Theatre

Annie was first performed now a remarkable fifty years ago at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and since then, the tale based on a 1920s comic strip and adapted for the stage by Thomas Meehan on book, with music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics provided by Martin Charnin, has become a perennial favourite across the world. Indeed, this version, directed by Nikolai Foster, last appeared at Milton Keynes Theatre in 2023. So, after all these years, does Annie still have that appeal? Set in  1930s New York during the Great Depression,  Annie  follows the life of an orphan abandoned to the care  of its evil matron, Miss Hannigan. Annie seeks escape, and after one failed attempt, she finds herself the chosen Christmas guest of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, and things slowly, hopefully begin to improve for the little but fiercely strong Annie. Leading the adult cast for this tour now as the cruel Miss Hannigan is Claire Sweeney. Sweeney clearly revels in the chance to embr...
Read more