Our latest theatrical venture was a visit to our local Victoria Hall in Settle to see a relay of the hit West End musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
The show is set in Sheffield, and indeed originated at the city’s fine Crucible Theatre. It is based on a 2011 BBC Three documentary, Jamie: Drag Queen at 16. We saw an ‘encore’ performance (i.e. recorded live and first shown last July, but in this case relayed to cinemas in March 2019).
The show was written by singer-songwriter Dan Gillespie Sells, with book and lyrics by Tom MacRae. It is an uplifting tale of a sixteen-year-old boy who is coming to terms both with his gay sexuality and his burning ambition to be a drag queen. Brought up by his mother and her best friend Ray, Jamie is cheerful and outgoing, despite an element of homophobia from some kids at school, especially the school bully Dean, and the fact that his absent father is not interested in him.
As the show opens, careers teacher Miss Hedge is discussing the kids’ future careers, and urges realism in aspirations, but Jamie says he wants to be a performer. He is mocked by his classmates, especially Dean.
It is Jamie’s sixteenth birthday and his mum’s present is a pair of bright red high-heeled shoes, the first element in his new drag persona. He receives a birthday card supposedly from his dad. At school the next day, Jamie shows his new shoes to his best friend Pitti, but they are interrupted by Dean, who taunts Jamie for being gay and Pritti for being Muslim. Jamie gets back at Dean for having a small penis, so he flees.
Pritti encourages him to follow his dream, and go to prom in a dress. Jamie visits Victor’s Secret, a shop specialising in drag costumes, run by Hugo, a retired drag queen Loco Chanelle. Jamie conceives an ambition to attend his school prom in drag – much to the ill-disguised horror of his form teacher and several parents. Meanwhile, Jamie makes his debut as drag queen Mimi Me in a local club, with the help of Loco Chanelle and her colleagues Laike Virgin, Tray Sophisticay and Sandra Bollock. Jamie is told that his father has paid for his dress, and sent flowers to mark his debut.
The school is buzzing with the news of Jamie’s debut, and he arrives wearing make-up and long eyelashes. Miss Hedge again tells him to get real, and Dean taunts him – but Jamie just kisses him, clearly leaving the bully confused.
At home, Jamie shows off the dress he will wear to prom, but they are interrupted by a phone call from the school, summoning them for a meeting. When they arrive, Miss Hedge forbids Jamie to attend in drag, citing ‘complaints’ – in fact, stirred up by Dean.
Jamie visits his friend Pitti, and complains about the ban, saying that he is ugly without his Mimi persona. Pitti tries to reassure him that he is not ugly, and then Jamie confesses that, when he was eight, his father had found him wearing a dress and was very angry. Jamie wonders why, if his dad is so disgusted, he paid for the dress and sent flowers. Pitti suggests that Jamie should go and see him.
The visit exposes the truth that his father is deeply ashamed of him and wants nothing to do with him. At this point, it is difficult to know whether Jamie is more hurt by his father’s disgust or the fact that his mother has lied to him, consistently and over a long period. He confronts his mother and storms out of the house.
Drunk on cider, he wanders the streets and is corned by thugs and beaten up. Hugo chases them off, calms Jamie down and persuades him to go him and be reconciled with his mother.
In the event, Jamie does turn up at the prom in a dress, but not in his full drag persona. He is refused admission by Miss Hedge, who again cites complaints from parents. However, this now prompts most of his classmates to stay out in sympathy, so forcing Miss Hedge’s hand. Jamie goes in holding hands with Dean, persuaded to be nice for just one night.
The show exuberantly ends on the last day of term at school, as the kids face the future – most with optimism, but some, like Dean, with fear and trepidation as they face a life of obscurity and just ‘getting by’.
This is a terrific show, and it fully deserves its hit status. An exuberant cast led by the award-winning John McCrea as Jamie perform a score that references both modern pop music and theatrical tradition, and there were some genuinely affecting moments. The choreography and staging were excellent – particularly impressive was the way a production designed for the Crucible’s thrust stage had been adapted for a traditional proscenium theatre.
It has terrific pace, and the plot is driven forward very well. The musical form does not allow for subtlety in storytelling or character development, which means that, as noted by some critics, the show can sometimes be seen to be pushing lots of political correctness buttons. However, the issues confronted by the kids – racism, identity, homophobia, the lack of life chances – are real, and the show’s achievement is to make them believable – and to make you care.
It was a great night out, and it would, I think, be great to see the show live – and experience first hand the exuberance and energy of the cast. The show is still running in London, albeit with a new cast, and a UK tour is promised for 2020. A film version is also reported to be on the stocks.