Friday February 29, 2008
The sum of all parts
STAGING a show of We Will Rock You's colossal proportions involved negotiating a number of logistical hurdles and some serious rounds of rehearsals.
“It’s strange how all of this has come together – most of the company are based in South Africa. I had to go to Johannesburg for a while for the production. It was great ’cause the team there was keen to learn from me, given my experience in Rockstar, and I was keen to learn from them as well,”said Miguel Ayesa, who plays the lead role.
“Rehearsals took a total of five weeks in all, but it was certainly a joy to work on this. The directors loved being there, even though they had to come from as far as Canada and Australia. The cast and production crew are a very close-knit unit and everyone gets along really well.”
We Will Rock You is the brainchild of English comic genius Ben Elton, who is both the author and director. It was Elton who persuaded Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor to allow him to use Queen’s songs for this musical.
Elton is the man behind British hit comedies from the 1980s like Happy Families, Filthy Rich & Catflap and The Thin Blue Line, among others. He was also partly responsible for the hilarious Blackadder 2, Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth.
The elaborate stage set is the handiwork of designer Mark Fisher, who in a stellar career, has designed sets for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, to name a few.
Arlene Phillips on the other hand, provides the stunning choreography – she has choreographed West End productions such as Starlight Express, Grease, Saturday Night Fever and the recent West End triumph The Sound of Music.
Related Stories:
Theatre of dreams
Still got it goin’ on
RSS
