lowry

Review: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie at The Lowry

kristobel
Image credit: Matt Crockett

Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

If there was any show to break my 18-month theatre hiatus – it had to be this one. Explosive. Emotional. Empowering. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is one of the biggest productions to head to Manchester since the pandemic.

Explosive. Emotional. Empowering.

The show first wowed audiences at Sheffield Crucible in 2017 before transferring to the West End later that year. Since then, the musical has taken the entertainment world by storm with a big-screen adaptation, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie: The Movie, hitting Amazon Prime later this month and a North American premiere planned for next year. And once you’ve seen the show…you’ll realise…that it’s no wonder everybody’s STILL talking about Jamie. 

Inspired by a 2011 BBC real-life documentary, ‘Jamie: Drag Queen at 16’, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie charts the story of Sheffield teenager Jamie New and his journey ‘out of the darkness’ to become a drag queen.

With an explosive ensemble opening – ‘And You Don’t Even Know It’ –  it’s clear that the show is going to be fabulous and feel good. Magnetic, sparkling and consuming, I felt invested in Jamie’s story from the get-go. Tom MacRae’s snappy and witty script is kept bang up-to-date with a good dose of Covid-related humour. Anna Fleischle’s set and costume design complement the high-energy production – transitions between scenes are smooth and aided by clever video projections. Dan Gillespie Sells’ musical score is a real highlight too – catchy pop-perfection – you’ll be humming it for days afterwards.

Image credit: Matt Crockett

From the moment Layton Williams steps on stage as Jamie, he shines bright. Brilliant, sassy, loveable and effervescent. Softly spoken, he plays the role with a delicate vulnerability and loads of charm. There isn’t a weak link in the supporting cast either: Shane Richie as Jamie’s mentor Hugo aka drag queen Loco Chanelle; Shobna Gulati as quick-witted family friend Ray and Sharan Phull as Jamie’s best friend Pritti. Amy Ellen Richardson gives an outstanding performance as Jamie’s mum Margaret – her tear-inducing, goosebump-producing rendition of ‘He’s My Boy’ was so phenomenal, I found myself stifling my sobs. 

‘He’s My Boy’ was so phenomenal, I found myself stifling my sobs.

With a live band suspended high on stage, stunning choreography, superb pacing and top-notch direction by Jonathan Butterell, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie received a well-deserved standing ovation on the night I attended. It’s sparkles, sequins and heels but it’s also a wonderful feel-good story about growing up, acceptance and taking care of the people you love.

-Kristy Stott

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie runs at The Lowry, Salford until Sunday 12th September 2021.

DESH (Lowry, Salford)

kristobel

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DESH © copyright – Richard Haughton

DESH means ‘homeland’ in Bengali. Akram Khan has woven a full length contemporary solo on this subject and by moving the story between British and Bangladeshi culture, he intricately juxtaposes his personal experiences with folklore and evocative memories.

Akram Khan is a gifted storyteller and an outstanding dancer and performer – perhaps the most striking aspect of this performance is the way that he can achieve such intimacy despite the performance being delivered on such a grand scale.

Khan gives a transfixing performance and draws on his comparisons of two different cultures in this outstanding collaboration with Oscar-winning visual artist Tim Yip and Award-winning composer Jocelyn Pook. DESH is essentially a quest by Khan to make sense of his parents life in Bangladesh. Born in London, Khan wants to explore this culture to help him understand himself.

I walked out of the theatre deep in thought- there is a lot to take in- Khan’s personal cyclical narrative leaves you thinking for some time afterwards. Khan punctuates his traditional storytelling with humorous references to pop culture which suggests different character traits and the way that identity and family values can change with the passing of time.

The set is visually stunning particularly the section where Khan performs behind a large gauze which is projected with moving images. It is a real treat as we watch Khan stare in awe at an elephant, float down stream in a canoe and come face-to-face with a giant crocodile. Later we see Khan caught in a relentless but beautiful monsoon, hanging upside down between glimmering silvery fabric panels and it is magical.

The whole show has such fluidity- everything flows into everything else, the props constructed by Sander Loonen are used effectively throughout the performance. There is an aeroplane engine, central to the narrative, which is used as a telephone and there are two chairs- one considerably larger than the other, which are used to frame sections of Khan’s captivating performance.

By the close of the show, Khan has managed to excavate his fathers old shirt and he puts it on. We realise that Khan is telling a story that we can all relate to, cultural changes between different generations, the feeling of loss when you no longer have your parents and the questions that you wished you had asked them.

A beautiful and magnetising piece of theatre.

DESH is at the Lowry until 14 November.

-Kristy Stott

Post first published by What’s on Stage in November 2014