Musical spotlight: Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

In 2018, I was treated to a last minute Christmas present - tickets to see the musical Everyone’s Talking About Jamie on the West End.

The musical follows 16-year-old Jamie New as he overcomes prejudice and bullying, ultimately wanting to be a drag queen. With music by Dan Gillespie Sells, as well as the book and lyrics by Tom MacRea, the musical was inspired by the 2011 television documentary Jamie, a Drag Queen at 16 set in Sheffield.

The TV show follows a similar storyline to the musical. Jamie Campbell, a 16 year old boy from a council estate in Sheffield, wanted to wear a dress to his school dance and dreamed of being a drag superstar, all while studying for his GCSEs.

The musical has won several What’s On Stage awards, as well as being nominated in five different Olivier award categories, doing particularly well and still gaining generally popular reviews. John McCrea, the original west end Jamie, won ’most promising newcomer’ in 2017, and 'best actor in a musical' in 2018. He has played the role since performances began in February 2018 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, until early 2019 on the West End.

His notable replacement was Layton Williams, best known for playing the role of Stephen in the television series Bad Education, the title role in Billy Elliot on London's West End and featuring in the CBBC Documentary School for Stars, which documented life at the acting school Italia Conti.

The show has also had other notable stars in it, such as Ru Pauls Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, who played Jamie News’ teacher. I was also lucky enough to meet ‘The Vinegar Strokes’ who appeared on the first season of the UK version of Ru Pauls Drag Race. At the time I saw the show, the cast for the UK line-up hadn’t been finalised and The Vinegar Strokes (Daniel Jacob) handed out cards at the stage door asking for our support to help him be cast on the show.

My favourite thing about Everybody's Talking About Jamie would have to be the incredible music. I'd highly recommend listening to the album, particularly the songs And You Don't Even Know It, The Wall in My Head and Work of Art.

These songs capture what the show is all about and relates to the emotions and experiences teenagers face. The show focuses on those who are seen as 'different' and we see how the characters face and overcome this prejudice. The fact that the show is also set in Sheffield is very unique as they capture what it is like growing up in the North, as well as keeping the authentic Sheffield accent.

The Australian tour of the show was set to start in July 2020, but is now rescheduled for later this year. In May 2018, it was announced that the musical would be adapted into a feature film by 20th Century Fox, with the cast including Max Harwood as Jamie; Sarah Lancashire as Margaret, Richard E. Grant as Hugo and Shobna Gulati as Ray.

Other notable people starring in the film are Lauren Patel, Layton Williams, Sharon Horgan, Richard E. Grant and John McCrea. The official trailer was released four months ago and can be found on YouTube.

Edited by Hannah Youds