Everybody's Talking About Jamie

Before I start I just want to clarify that this post will not be a review. I don't feel like I can give an honest review of this show because I haven't seen it in person; I have only seen the recent broadcast in my local cinema. As someone who has watched many a bootleg I know that watching a show in person has such an amazingly different atmosphere to when you're watching a bottleg/recording/broadcast. When you're there in the theatre you have the buzz of the audience as well as the buzz from the performers which gets you in such a great mood and makes a show so magical, whereas when its a recording I feel like you lose that atmosphere and buzz which can be vital to your enjoyment of a show. For instance I watched a bootleg of Cabaret a few years ago and thought it was only an ok show. But then I saw it last year when it went on a UK/Ireland tour and it was one of the best pieces of theatre I saw last year. So for that reason I wont be doing a proper review of Everybody's Talking About Jamie and will just be sharing my thoughts and opinions on it. At least until I get the chance to see it live and in person, which will definitely be happening as soon as possible because I loved it!!

First I just want to get the only negative thing I have to say about the show out of the way so the rest of this post can be me just word vomiting about how brilliant it is! And to be honest, this isn't even that much of a negative. I'm not a huge fan of musical theatre songs that are very pop influenced, or pop music in general really, so the more upbeat songs in this show weren't really my thing. I feel like when they're too fast it makes it hard to understand what the cast are singing. But that could also have been a fault with the broadcast,  I'm not sure . However, despite not liking the upbeat songs as much as I would have liked to, the rest of the soundtrack was AMAZING! The slower songs really pack a powerful punch and hit you right in the gut. 'It Means Beautiful' and 'Wall In My Head' were standouts to me but nothing compares to the two songs sang by Margaret, Jamie's Mother, - 'If I Met Myself Again' and 'He's My Boy'. I had tears streaming down my face while watching these songs performed cause they were so heartbreaking yet powerful. And Josie Walker's voice is unbelievably good! I also broke down during 'My Man, Your Boy' because as someone who has a very close relationship with my mother I could relate with this scene on a very personal level and could tell exactly how the characters felt. And whats best is that I still get all those feelings when I listen to these songs on the cast album which for me is a clear sign of amazing song writing! So my biggest congratulations to Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom MacRae.

Another thing I liked about Everybody's Talking About Jamie was the set. it was a fairly simple yet effective set in my opinion. But the best part for me is the lighting design by Lucy Carter. The show makes amazing use of lightning in between scenes which i though was fantastic and would love to see more of in theatre! It was so fun and interesting and filled those awkward moments of just emptiness on stage while scenes were shifting!

The entire cast of Everybody's Talking About Jamie were fantastic. There isn't a weak link anywhere. The ensemble were so much fun to watch and could dance their asses off (choreography by Kate Prince was brilliant) and Luke Baker (Dean Paxton) and Jordan Cunningham (Sayid) were very nice to look at! Lucie Shorthouse (Pritti Pasha) was amazing and has such a beautiful voice and Shobna Gulati (Ray) was fabulous and hilarious! But John McCrea and Josie Walker are just on a whole new level! John McCrea makes a fantastic Jamie and really gets into the character. I could swear he was the actual Jamie New because he so wonderfully embodies the character and embraces it! And his voice is so so so good! Plus any man that can strut around a stage in heels that high has my highest respect! And Josie Walker - OH MY GOD!!! I couldnt get enough of her. She is a phenomenal actress with a voice as smooth as butter. She made me cry so many times cause I could see my own mother in the way she played Margaret, which is something I feel like any mamma's boy can confirm. She wonderfully captures motherhood on stage and makes it so believable. Just absolute magically talented people up on that stage and I really hope when I finally do get the chance to see it I see this cast!

For me the plot and story of Everybody's Talking About Jamie is the best thing about the show! It is such a wonderful story of acceptance and embracing who you are which is something that resonates strongly with me. I feel like a lot of gay men can relate to the story on some level. And the side story with Margaret which explores motherhood and doing anything you can to make your child feel loved, wanted, and accepted, and believing in them and encouraging them to embrace who they are is fantastic. In fact I think this aspect of the plot touched me more than Jamie's story. Like I said I have a very close relationship with my mother and was able to see her in Margaret; so when Margaret was upset I couldn't help but imagine my mother feeling the same way at some point for something stupid I might have said or done which broke my heart. If you're a mamma's boy and don't come out of Everybody's Talking About Jamie with an overwhelming urge to hug your mother and tell her how much you love and appreciate her I would be very surprised. 

Everybody's Talking About Jamie will definitely be one of the first shows I book tickets for when I move to London next year and I have a feeling I'll be a serial repeat visitor to the Apollo Theatre for as long as the show is running!