The Show That Everybody Should be Talking About!
Cast your mind back to your school days; you’re sitting in your career class and your teacher is nagging you to choose a job and map out your entire future while you, a 16-year-old, barely know who you are and where you fit into the world. This is where the story of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie begins. Jamie is told to be realistic about his future, but all he wants to do is become a drag queen. In a world that rejects anything out of the norm, like a boy dressing up as a woman, we follow Jamie on a tale of self-discovery.
This is an incredibly important show that every coming-of-age person needs to see, and one that I wish existed when I was younger. It celebrates diversity and highlights that it’s okay to be who you are. It is raw and honest about growing-up in a difficult background. It shows us what it’s like for a young, queer person to openly be who they are in a world that is struggling to accept them. I don’t want to give too much away about the show before you see it, but at times it will have you filled with joy and laughter, and at others it will have you reaching for the tissues.
Jamie is incredibly well supported by his mum and her best friend Ray, played by Coronation Street’s Shobna Gulati. The villain comes in the form of his schoolteacher Miss Hedge, played by another Corrie and Emmerdale star Hayley Tamaddon. Adding to the star-studded line up, Eastenders’ John Partridge plays the part of Loco Chanel/Hugo; an ex-drag queen who takes Jamie under his wing and mentors him to be comfortable in his own skin. Speaking of the cast, I was absolutely blown away by how talented every single performer was on that stage. The vocals were incredible, and the harmonies gave me chills on several occasions. Jamie himself is played by the amazing Ivano Turco, whose pitch perfect voice accompanied his convincing portrayal of the character.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is the show that everybody needs to see! It’s an important story about love, hate, and acceptance and one that makes an important commentary on the world we’re living in today. Not to mention, it is full of toe-tapping hits that are, in my opinion, underrated in the musical theatre world. It’s at the Wales Millennium Centre this week until the 28th of October, you would be absolutely crazy to miss it
