What a fantastic show! Students at Sherburn High worked incredibly hard to prepare for the production of We Will Rock You, and although the snow postponed the original dates, the show still went on! With legendary music by the rock band Queen, the show was a crowd pleaser for all ages, including infamous songs such as ‘Another One Bites the Dust’, ‘We are the Champions’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.
Set 300 years in the future, two teenagers Galileo (Ellie May Cameron) and Scaramouche (Eve Knowles) find themselves outcast by the other Gaga Kids for being different to the others. Planet Earth has been taken over by the evil Killer Queen (Bronte Straw), and her Globalsoft Corporation and the Gaga Kids are compelled to dress, act and behave all the same way. Musical instruments are forbidden, and rock music is unknown. With Commander of Police Kashoggi (Aimee Palmer) hunting them down, Galileo and Scaramouche seek help from fellow bohemians Brit (Joe Pearson) and Meat (Grace Armytage) along the way. Together, the four rebels rock out on stage and challenge Killer Queen, they go in search of magic musical instruments and with help from Pop (Alfie Gill Webb), the wise old librarian, they bring rock music back to life!
In a burst of colour, the chorus chanted ‘Radio Gaga’ down the aisle, their energy and enthusiasm was infectious throughout the performances and had the audience on their feet by the end of the night. Both Ellie-May and Eve worked exceedingly hard to learn some vocally challenging songs such as ‘Somebody to Love’ and ‘I Want to Break Free’ which they performed beautifully, their performances were outstanding and demonstrated true strength in their characters.
While Bronte Straw and Aimee Palmer created a terrifyingly comical relationship on stage and again amazed the audiences with their vocal talent. Being new to performing in school productions at Sherburn High School, Joe Pearson was totally committed to the show and did a fantastic job with his charismatically funny character Britney Spears and Grace Armytage had the audience in tears with her stunning rendition of ‘No One But You’. Leaving just enough spotlight to be stolen by Alfie Gill Webb’s fantastic costume and quick one-liners as his character of Pop. Every single student who was part of the production gave 110% effort and commitment to the rehearsals and performances and made everyone at Sherburn High School extremely proud.
The show was directed by Performing Arts Teacher, Natalie Dennis with the assistance of English and Drama Teacher, Stephen Hunt, who organised sound, lighting and projections throughout the performance. The choreography was led by Art Teacher Chelsea Palmer and the talented Year 8 dancers. Natalie said:
The production was a fantastic success and testament to all the hard work that both students and staff have put into it and I am incredibly proud of everyone!