Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Milton Keynes Theatre
10th June 2024
As much as we love the American musicals that make their way across the pond, there’s something wonderful about seeing a British show make its mark and grow into a real success. ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is one such show, currently enjoying its second UK tour on the back of a highly successful West End run. Premiering at the Sheffield Crucible back in 2017, the show was inspired by the documentary ‘Jamie: Drag Queen At 16’, and tells the true story of a teenage boy who longs to enter the world of performance drag. With Ivano Turco donning the heels alongside Strictly’s Kevin Clifton, the coming-of-age musical has been entertaining regional audiences since late last year, and struts its stuff this week at Milton Keynes Theatre.
Jamie New (Turco) daydreams about escaping his colourless life in Sheffield and instead becoming a drag performer, much to the annoyance of careers’ teacher Miss Hedge (understudied on Press Night by Georgina Hagen), who tells him to keep things real. Despite the full support of friend Pritti (Talia Palamathanan), mum Margaret (Rebecca McKinnis) and her best friend Ray (Sejal Keshwala), Jamie faces prejudice from school bully Dean (Jordan Ricketts) and abject disgust from his absentee father. Upon meeting former drag queen Hugo (Kevin Clifton), Jamie learns the tricks of the trade, creates his drag persona Mimi Me and faces the inevitable backlash, discovering the real him in the process.
‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is an uplifting celebration of diversity, equality and the importance of being one’s true, and it’s easy to see why audiences have taken it to their hearts. The genuinely funny book (Tom MacRae) and three-dimensional characters gel into a cohesive whole that not only honours the power of the drag art form, but also acts as a reminder of the importance of kindness and allowing others to be their authentic selves. The relationship between Jamie and Margaret is beautifully written and feels genuine, and seeing such parental support for a child who feels like an outsider is wonderfully heart-warming. The ‘Legs Eleven’ drag queens still feel underused and their material could be stronger, as could the backstory of Loco Chanelle which serves to fill time rather than adding much to the narrative, as well as being one of the weaker songs. But largely it works, a great mix of punchy crowd-pleasers (with brilliant choreography from Kate Prince), and beautiful quieter character songs.
The production looks great with some fantastic set design from Anna Fleischle, taking us back to the classroom via an industrial “Rubik’s cube”-style staging and clever use of video and lighting. It also sounds great, the pop-centric score (written by The Feeling’s Dan Gillespie Sells) is ear-catching from the very first listen, improving with repeated listens, and the show has a fantastic sense of personality and energy.
Ivano Turco leads the show well as Jamie, delivering sass in spaces without forgetting the vulnerability underneath, and his chemistry with the rest of the cast also feels natural and genuine. His versatile voice works well in both the showier numbers and the more introspective ones, and he gets to show a knack for comedy too. Rebecca McKinnis follows ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ with another “flawed mum” and excels once again as Margaret, giving an earthy gritty performance and making “He’s My Boy” a moving experience. Kevin Clifton continues to defy the “stunt casting” label and is genuinely terrific in his dual roles, finding a warm likeability in Hugo while staying the right side of caricature as Loco and being downright fabulous. Sejal Keshwala is also great fun as Ray, bringing sarcasm and comedic bite to her lines.
‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ may initially appear to be about the creation of a drag persona, but its real heart lies in Jamie’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance, and the show conveys it beautifully. Funny, heart-warming and uplifting, its likeable characters and fantastic songs really do make it a show worth talking about.
‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 15th June 2024, before continuing on its UK tour.
Performance runtime 2 hours 40 minutes including interval.
