REVIEW: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at Mayflower Theatre

Tonight, Southampton was only talking about one thing…                Jamie!

‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is on Mayflower Theatres stage once again and what a way to start off the new year. The hit musical by ‘Dan Gillespie Sells’ (Music) and ‘Tom Macrae’ (Book & Lyrics) is back and better than ever. This musical has become a modern-day instant classic of theatre and is well deserved of its place with such prestigious company. Having won the awards ‘Jamie’ has won (‘Jamie’ is what I’m going to refer to the musical as from now on), and having a major motion picture adaptation of the musical – it could have been very easy for the show to forget its way and its powerful meaning. I’m very happy to say that this is just not the case. 

One thing I love is a biopic story told via a musical. If that’s something you love too and you haven’t seen ‘Jamie’ yet, I think I may have the next musical for you. Based on the Firecracker documentary film, ‘Jamie: Drag Queen at 16’’, this true story follows Jamie New, a teenage boy from Sheffield coming to the end of his school life and thinking about what he wants to do after school. Or more importantly what he wants to be. Jamie doesn’t quite fit in, but with the support from his mum and friends he overcomes prejudice and steps out of the darkness and into the spotlight. His story is funny, powerful and touching. It’s just as important now as it was when it actually happened. Director, Matt Ryan, has done incredibly well to portray that level of importance throughout the show. Through song, dance, movement, and placement. Every little detail has been noticed and watching it unfold was seamless. Having such an important topic and giving it a feel good vibe can’t have been easy but the whole company has made it work. 

Everything about his performance was outstanding.

The casting for this tour is phenomenal. Each and every member of the cast brought the energy and guided us through the story perfectly. We were tapping our feet at the highs, and you could hear a pin drop in the lows. Command over a packed theatre like that? Now that’s talent! The whole cast was brilliant but I can’t not talk about a few standout performances. The role of ‘Jamie New’ was played by Ivano Turco and I have no other word than WOW! His stage presence was incredible. The dancing, incredible. His comedic timing and delivery, yep you guessed it, incredible. Everything about his performance was outstanding, and to bring a voice like his into this role was perfection. The vocal choices that he made were spot on, he truly made the role his own and it was so refreshing. As ‘Jamie New’ himself would say, “Ivano you were FABulous!”. Returning to play Jamie’s Mum, ‘Margaret New’, was the highly talented Rebecca McKinnis. This is actually the second time I’ve seen McKinnis after seeing her as ‘Heidi Hansen’ in ‘Dear Evan Hansen’, as she was just as amazing then as she was tonight. Her relationship on stage with Ivano and the hilariously funny Shobna Gulati (playing the role of ‘Rey’) was so natural it felt like we were just watching their life unfold. Not to mention when she had the whole auditorium in tears during the songs ‘He’s My Boy’ and ‘My Man, Your Boy’. Phenomenal. Southampton are also lucky enough to have Giovanna Fletcher playing ‘Miss Hedge’ and John Partridge playing ‘Hugo/Loco Chanelle’ who again were both brilliant. John did a beautiful job at bringing in a further sense of sensitivity and understanding throughout the musical, whether he was dressed in his glamorous ‘Loco Chanelle’ get up or not. Veteran ‘Jamie’ actress, Talia Palamathanan reprised her role as ‘Pretty Pasha’, and all I can say is that it’s understandable why she has played the role multiple times in multiple different countries. It’s been so hard not to name each cast member individually in this review, but unfortunately it would make it unbearably longer than it’s going to be already. 

The set was also what you’d expect from a record breaking West End musical. Clever, efficient, but still grand. West end theatres tend to be a lot tighter so sets need to make the most of the stage they have. This is something you can tell has been kept in mind with this set design, but it certainly doesn’t get lost on the Mayflowers stage. The wall at the back is multi-functional becoming a kitchen, a shop, and a multitude of different places whilst allowing for the shows multiple split scenes. I also really enjoyed the use of the school desks turning into a catwalk, mixed with the lighting which was really effective. The lighting was fairly simple throughout, relying heavily on spotlights to pinpoint certain characters in a scene. The use of projection and video added lots to different scenes however. In particular at the end of act 1, the tall curtains and projection of Jamie was very creative. The pre-recorded videos of Ivano and Giovanna that were projected onto the back walls also helped tell the story of the songs whilst filling some empty space. 

It really is a fabulous story, fabulously told that makes you feel good.

As I’ve already mentioned, the singing within the show was brilliant; but as I always say, if there is one thing that can really elevate a musical it’s live music. The live band headed by Danny Belton, was note perfect. They really helped set the pace of the show, and when they were involved you could feel the energy move with them. I also like how they have stuck to their West End routes with the band being sat on stage above the action, rather than moving them to a pit which they could’ve easily done with the space provided. Something that I haven’t really mentioned but really enjoyed was the choreography and dance. Choreographer, Kate Prince, has done a great job at including a range of different dance styles and highlighting these in certain areas as well. If there is one thing that I thought ‘Jamie’ could improve on, it would be the long dialogue sections between characters when nothing else was happening. These are needed, but towards the end of act 1 I could start seeing people check their watches for when the interval was coming and I was also the same. I think it was the silences when silence wasn’t needed for dramatic effect. But that is just me being incredibly picky. 

I’m so impressed by this story and how the cast have told it so effectively. The story holds so many important morals and challenges that can be interpreted differently by each individual. Not only that, but it had me laughing out loud, speechless (which is challenging), and even close to tears. It really is a fabulous story, fabulously told that makes you feel good. I feel like this is a musical so many people will be able to resonate with in different ways. I keep saying about how important I feel the show is and one line that Jamie says almost sums it up without spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it. It’s along the lines of, “Real superheroes/men don’t wear capes, they wear dresses”. This will all become clear when you see this musical, which you absolutely should if you get the chance (especially with this tour cast!). ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is at Mayflower Theatre until January 14th before continuing on its UK tour and I wish the whole company all the success they deserve.