A story of grit covered in glitter, of drag as armour – but also of how Jamie unapologetically being himself injects colour back into the lives of those close to him
The wildly popular and award-winning Everybody’s Talking About Jamie returned to the stage at the Liverpool Empire this week, directed in its new run by Matt Ryan and with the sensational Ivano Turco starring as the fourth Jamie. The musical is inspired by the BBC documentary ‘Jamie: Drag Queen at 16’ and follows the story of a gay teenager in Sheffield who wants to be a drag queen and is fighting for his right to attend prom in a dress.
The set, designed by Olivier award-winning Anna Fleischle, folded and shifted between bedrooms, streets, school and kitchen. Largely drab and with cloudy, grey skies projected onto the walls, it caught the grit and desperation of this working-class town, with the warmth of Jamie’s mum’s kitchen and the shop where he meets drag queen Loco Chanelle, aka Hugo (Kevin Clifton) being the only flashes of colour. This is, at its heart, a painful story, a story of grit covered in glitter and drag as armour – but also of how Jamie unapologetically being himself injects colour back into the lives of those close to him, and the set catches that beautifully.
I admit I had to try to reconcile my idea of what the story would be with the reality; Everybody’s Talking About Jamie wasn’t the feel-good evening I expected, and at times left me tearful and uncomfortable. Rebecca McKinnis was incredible as Margaret New, Jamie’s mum, who loves and supports her son unconditionally while facing money struggles, loneliness, and trying to protect him from his father and the others who don’t understand him. Her heartfelt solos ‘If I Met Myself Again’ and ‘He’s My Boy’ gave me chills and were the undeniable standouts of the night. Strictly star Kevin Clifton’s ‘The Legend of Loco Chanelle’ was also dark and beautiful and Hugo was a definite favourite, overcoming his own painful past to take to the stage in drag again to introduce Jamie’s debut performance.
These more raw elements were handled beautifully, however other darker elements of the plot sometimes felt like they lost this nuance. There’s a fine line between representing the often difficult reality of the queer experience and feeding into shock factor, and the freedom with which homophobic and racist slurs were used, and a scene of physical abuse which just seems to be shrugged off, made it feel to me like the show slipped into the latter. A difficult scene where Jamie lashes out at his mother also felt out of place and surprisingly cruel considering how close their bond is shown to be, and the usual nature of Jamie’s character. I was taken out of the show temporarily, thinking ‘he wouldn’t have said that’ rather than ‘I can understand the hurt behind those words’. Sometimes the quick switches between ballads, upbeat pop songs, and vitriol were also a bit of a whirlwind, but it certainly made for a dynamic show.
The catchy tunes performed by Jamie and his classmates can’t be overlooked, either. I’ve had ‘And You Don’t Even Know It’ in my head all day, and I loved how the songs incorporated elements of music-making that most of us will remember from school, like clapping on the tables or stacking cups. Ivano Turco sung beautifully and was a real force of nature, commanding the spotlight and injecting both humour and colour, and insecurity and sensitivity into his performance.
Of course, in the end, everyone came together, with a lovely final scene where Jamie’s class rallies behind him as he arrives to prom not as drag queen Mimi Me, but as himself, in his truest and most fabulous state. He shares the spotlight this time, however, with best friend Pritti Pasha, played by Talia Palamathanan. She was wonderful throughout, playing the straight-talking and sensible counterpart to Jamie’s head full of dreams, but she really finds her fire in the finale in her takedown of school bully Dean Paxton. Jordan Ricketts, the original Dean, returned to his role in this run of the show, and plays a great villain. I didn’t quite come away with my heart as full of love for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie as I thought I might, but it was a technically flawless evening executed by an outstanding cast and crew, and perhaps my only criticism lies in small elements of the original writing. I would nevertheless recommend it to all fans of drag and glitter – though with a note to also bring a packet of tissues.