Roll Over Beethoven – Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch

The cast of Roll Over Beethoven at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch

Roll Over Beethoven continues at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch until 12 September.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Roll Over Beethoven is the story of Johnny Hamlet who is haunted by his father, who accuses his brother of his murder, and demands that Johnny kills him.

This musical, especially written for the Queen’s Theatre by Bob Eaton, marks a return to the theatre for many of the cut to the chase… cast, including Fred Broom who has appeared in a lot of the company’s recent productions. As the ghost, he is often in the background during the night scenes, but still remains a cornerstone of the show.

Leading the way in this 1950s rock‘n’roll musical is Cameron Jones in the central role of Johnny Hamlet and he does an excellent job of representing the era. With multiple solo performances on the night, the show takes full advantage of his amazing singing ability with ‘All Messed Up’ and ‘Ode to Rock and Roll’ amongst the best songs from the night.

While we mention singing, we have to mention Lucy Wells who plays Ophelia, the potential wife of Hamlet. This is Wells’ first performance at the Queen’s Theatre and she has a fantastic voice. Just like Jones, she performs several solos during the evening and obviously has a big future ahead of her.

Rodney Ford’s set is basic, with a simple layout of a street and the use of projectors to change the backgrounds. The theatre was also making a big effort on press night to create a diner vibe with American cars on show outside and traditional chocolate or strawberry ice cream milkshakes also available.

This is certainly a theatre production (directed by Matt Devitt) that you will want to see again and the truth is you may need a second viewing of the show due to the large amount of cross-references and in-jokes that refer to 1950s and classical music. Although Roll Over Beethoven uses famous examples of these musical styles, it separates itself from recent jukebox musicals like Mamma Mia! by using new lyrics with the well-known tunes. These often play on the original lyrics for humorous effect and certainly have the audience in fits of laughter.

The night is a lot of fun, although the piece is occasionally weakened by the use of two separate plots that do not meet until Act II, but once the story finds its feet, the experience improves and the cast certainly deserved the standing ovation they received.

Andy Wilkin

www.queens-theatre.co.uk