Everybody’s Talking About Jamie Returns to London
Written by Penny
On an unseasonably springlike Friday afternoon, I went along to @sohoplace to officially welcome a fabulous show back into the West End. With a panel discussion including cast members and creatives, a couple of performances and a chance to chat with the cast, I was very excited to catch up with the show that everybody’s talking about - Everybody’s Talking About Jamie!
For anybody who doesn’t know the history of the show, it’s based on the true story of Jamie Campbell, a working class teen from County Durham who wanted to wear a dress to his school prom. Nervous about how it would be received, he did what every 16 year old would do, asked a documentary crew to help him tell his story!
Director Jonathan Butterell explained that having found the documentary, Jamie: Drag Queen at Sixteen, by chance when he was channel hopping, he felt inspired to turn it into a musical. He said:
“I wanted to tell that story because it felt very personal, it was about a working class kid and at the show’s very centre would be a working class, effeminate hero which I’ve never seen on stage”.
Jonathan talked about his idea to Daniel Evans who was Artistic Director at Sheffield Theatres at the time and he was keen to make it happen. Jonathan knew he wanted to work with a pop writer rather than musical theatre, because that’s the sort of music that working class people listen to on the radio. He wanted the show to feel like it was coming from the working class streets that he had lived on. He was then introduced to Dan Gillespie Sells (randomly enough by Michael Ball of all people!), who had been trying to write a musical with Tom MacRae and needed a bit of guidance. They had all the songs and a brief outline of the story. Jonathan loved the music but asked the writing duo if they would consider taking on a different story. They said yes and the rest is history!
Talking about the show’s music, composer Dan explained:
“The best pop music I love and I think it’s something in queer pop music is when you have the idea of setting a devastating ballad to a disco beat, there’s something so poignant about setting something sad or full of longing to something that is so upbeat and joyful”.
He went on to say that it was important for the audience to be invested in the story, even when the story itself perhaps pauses for a musical number. It’s a different type of storytelling but you can’t fall back on repeating choruses and dancing in a musical, which you might get with a traditional pop song, these songs have to move something forward. That isn’t necessarily the plot, it can let you learn about the characters on a deeper level, letting us into their internal world.
This insight into the characters was immediately apparent when Talia Palamathanan (Pritti) and Ivano Turco (Jamie) sang two songs from the show, in stripped back performances accompanied by Dan on keys. Watching them sing I felt I really was seeing what Pritti and Jamie were thinking and feeling – the pair are perfectly cast and both have a fantastic understanding of their characters as well as, of course, both being great singers. Their performances have a lot of warmth and heart and it was a real treat to hear the songs performed in a slightly different way to when we see the actors up on stage with a full ensemble cast and orchestra.
When it came for writing for the characters in the show, Dan thought about the sort of music they’d be listening to on the radio in the kitchen or singing along to in the shower, working out who was the pop star in their head? Jamie’s mum Margaret, who has an absolute showstopper of a song in “He’s My Boy”, was a bit of a soul girl like Carole King or Dusty Springfield. Jamie’s, of course, pure pop, and Pritti is a little less obvious, with a modern folky vibe and an acoustic guitar under the bed! And on the original concept album, Miss Hedge was sung by kitchen disco queen Sophie Ellis Bextor, who Dan described as “really well read and sophisticated but still disco and fabulous!”
With all that in mind, I couldn’t resist asking Ivano and Talia to choose their inner pop stars. The admiration these actors have for each other couldn’t be clearer in their answers.
Talia turned the question round, as she had an immediate choice for Ivano:
“This is Beyonce, I’ve never seen anyone more [Beyonce]in my life, I get starstruck every single day as he is in every essence the queen and king of his own life. I’ve never seen such a driving force saying “This is who I am”, but in a humble way, not with any arrogance or ego, it’s all love and joy and fabulousness”
Talking about Talia, Ivano added:
“It’s not as obvious here, but if I had to hone it down to one, it’s maybe a bit controversial but I see a bit of a Pussycat Doll, a bit of Nicole when she sings the ballads”
Jamie Lloyd, if you’re reading this, you saw it here first. Your future Norma Desmond is ready for her close up!
The latest Jamie cast has a mix of old and new faces. Director Jonathan talked about working with them:
“As a director you can exploit someone’s uniqueness as an actor and that’s what’s great about working with so many different casts, they bring their own unique and beautiful quality into the piece and make it their own, telling the story in their own specific way. Jamie says in the show, “I don’t know who I am”, so it’s not for me to say who Jamie New is, we discover him each time we meet him”.
Returning cast member Talia told me:
“The beauty with this show and every company I’ve been in is that we’ve all gelled so well. It’s such a show of love and light that you can’t walk away feeling any other type of way. For me I feel we’ve bonded so well as Jamie and Pritti off stage as well as on and we’ve helped each other figure out our own journeys, we’re not sticking to what they used to do in the past, but we’re forging a new way for us”
Newbie Ivano is also loving the experience:
“I love coming into something that’s had a life before me, and working with people who’ve done it before. There’s always somebody there with knowledge of where it came from and it’s a nice way to measure what we’re doing and make sure we don’t go too far away from the original story. It must be good for older cast members too, there’s an influx of new energy exploding everywhere!”
My time was almost up, so I had one last question, Given that “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”, I asked Ivano and Talia to talk about Jamie and sum up the show in three words. They didn’t hesitate, this pair know and love this show.
Talia said “Acceptance, inclusivity and love”.
And for Ivano: “Vulnerable, vibrant, vibes!”
Welcome back to London Jamie, it’s great to have you back!
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie runs at the Peacock Theatre from 8th February until 23rd March, followed by more dates across the UK. To find out more and book tickets, visit the Jamie website.
