it's no secret than i love me a drag queen - i mean, i have one tattooed on my arm (in the form of lady doenut, as you well know), so when rebekah presented me with tickets to see everybody's talking about jamie at the apollo theatre for christmas, i could have swooned. i didn't know too much about the show, other than it was adapted from a bbc docu-series about a teenage boy from a sheffield council estate whose dream it was to be a drag queen, but that was enough for me.
it was witty and clever and topical and brutal right from the start. there were moments of "hurrah for jamie!" book-ended with moments of "oh no, poor jamie", and surprising moments of "boo, no jamie!", but ultimately it was an entirely wonderful show. the school uniform-clad cast sung and danced their way flawlessly across stage, and it seemed they never even broke a sweat - the minute i put on a blazer i die from dehydration from sweat loss, so hats off indeed to them.
and jamie? played so humbly by the sensation that is john mcrae - a man i so desperately want to be my friend after seeing him dance around on stage in six inch red heels that would make dorothy blush, will undoubtedly become a hero for so many young boys and girls struggling to fit in in a schoolyard where anything outside "normal" is made fun of. we laughed along with jamie, we championed him, we were disappointed for him, and we ultimately, fell in love with him.
i'd never been to the apollo theatre on shaftsbury ave before, but it is a great little theatre. we were sat in the outer circle, which was the same level as the stage and so we had incredibly unobstructed views. the seats were a little creaky, but that's what you get from a grade two listed building i guess. i would absolutely recommend this show to anyone who's interested in poppy musicals that make you laugh, cry, and stand up and applaud right until the house lights come on. best present ever!
