LGBT+ MUSICAL REVIEW: Everybody's Talking About Jamie

“What do you think they were fighting for Jamie? For the future and the future is you.”

“I got the dreams, I got the style, I got the moves to make you smile.” These quotes in the musical, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, are powerful and heart-wrenching.

Everybody's Talking About Jamie is a stage musical scored by Dan Gillespie Sells and book and lyrics by Tom MacRae. The musical is inspired by a 2011 BBC documentary about a 16-year old teenager who aspired to become a drag queen. He stepped out of a classroom in the working class district of Sheffield, free from the paranoia of his deadbeat father, and put on a pair of high heels. 

The musical is directed by Jonathan Butterell, he is not only a director but also a choreographer, and this musical is his best piece of art so far. The stage was well lit and the costumes were ravishing, reflecting the glamour of drag queens. The lighting and stage settings were very clever and perfect for the visual experience.

Accompanied by the rhythm of hitting the desk, the plot is full of youthful enthusiasm from the beginning. A group of students wearing school uniforms sit in the classroom and have their final careers lesson. Although the teacher told Jimmy seriously that he would become a forklift driver, Jimmy had a secret, that is, he wanted to become a drag queen.

Dance is a big part of this musical. It combines street dance, hip-hop dance and modern dance. Through dance and music, it shows the audience the vitality of teenagers in an industrial background, and also Jimmy's life of trying to escape the constraints of the ordinary. The actors moved effectively between the classroom, Jamie's kitchen and the drag scenes, working seamlessly together as they danced and performed while changing benches and sliding scenery.

As the story develops, Jimmy gradually reveals his true self with the help of his mother Margaret, Hugo, and good friend Pritti Pasha, strives to realise his dream, and finally accepts himself as a drag queen at the dance. 

This musical has profound themes and includes diversity, bullying, self-acceptance, language, positive role models, “You don’t need to fit in, just be yourself”. It is a wonderful musical to watch for celebrating LGBT+ History Month!

Edited by Anna Cao