Everybody’s Talking About Jamie was reviewed at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, then tours until 16 August 2020.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This roller coaster of a show opened in Edinburgh to a packed house, absorbed in this extraordinary story from start to finish with many roars of approval along the way.
We first meet Jamie New in a careers’ class with his fellow pupils in high school under a teacher encouraging them to be realistic about their prospects. The first number, ‘And You Don’t Even Know It’, is punchy, witty and sets the tone for the piece brilliantly. Creative choreography, staging and interplay are used to maximum effect – backed by the tremendous seven-piece band that manages to sound like more than 20.
Jamie (Layton Williams) commands the stage in his first solo number, ‘The Wall In My Head’ – an exquisite piece of songwriting with lyrics from Tom MacRae (who also co-wrote the book) and music by Dan Gillespie Sells. The latter’s skilful orchestration expands from Northern brass to a more raunchy Tijuana sound as Jamie’s dream is revealed, then comes back to earth – the reality lesson versus the dream.
There’s wonderful interplay between Jamie and his best friend, Pritti (Sharan Phull) with great throwaway one liners (“Dressing up like Carol Vorderman is a game I want to be able to keep playing”). Phull has a wonderful voice: luckily there are many more opportunities to enjoy her singing throughout the stunning score.
Venturing into the possibilities of drag, Jamie visits the irrepressible Hugo (Shane Richie). It would have been too easy for someone to go OTT in this role, but not Richie, he pitches it perfectly and shows the division between drag character and reality with divine restraint and precision. His alter-ego, Loco Chanelle, has quite a back story, starting with the Tijuana brass sound that underscored Jamie’s dream, the fantasy of Loco is a fitting response.
The other key relationship Jamie has is with his mother, Margaret, played with heart, honesty and what could be called steely wistfulness by Amy Ellen Richardson. Her soliloquy number ‘If I Met Myself Again’ is haunting and echoed in an emotionally loaded pas de deux by two of the younger members of the ensemble. Utterly heartbreaking.
There are moments in the show where the reality of this being the story of a 16-year-old lad in Sheffield portray his naivety without ever being sentimental about it. The finale of Act I is almost lost to his fears until Hugo and the ‘Legs 11 Girls’ encourage him to go ‘Over the Top’, milking the double meaning of the phrase with great heart and humour.
Jonathan Butterell and Tom MacRae accomplish the goal of every musical writer in this final scene of the act where Hugo, trying desperately to explain what he means to Jamie, finds words are just not enough and ‘ascends’ into song as naturally as breathing.
The title number is the curtain-raiser for Act II, catchy, smart and leading into how his peers now accept Jamie just as he wanted to be seen. There are, of course, a couple of bumps in the road with bullies and an absentee father and it’s glorious to witness how Jamie and his supporters deals with these – the honesty shines through.
A strong ballad for Margaret in Act II all but stops the show – ‘He’s My Boy’ – perfect blend of performer, character and song. Stunning.
Many compare this show to Billy Elliot but it’s not that at all – this is set in a similar part of the world but tackles a far more difficult truth – that of acceptance. There’s a song from the careers teacher where she attempts to put down all that Jamie represents – it’s a shaming but necessary moment. We’ve come a long way, but there’s still a Jamie out there, hiding. One can but hope he (or she) sees this brilliantly crafted work.
Bravo, Jamie!
Fiona Orr
Tickets for the West End production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie are available HERE.
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