‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is upbeat and inspiring

BULL Alley is back with the hit West End Musical ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’, a stage musical centred around a coming-of-age story.

The musical follows and is based upon the true-life story of 16-year-old British schoolboy Jamie Campbell as he overcomes prejudice and bullying to step out of the darkness and become a drag queen.

Jamie New is 16 and lives on a council estate in Sheffield. Jamie doesn’t quite fit in. Jamie is terrified about the future. Jamie is going to be a sensation.

Supported by his amazing and loving mum and surrounded by his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness into the spotlight.

This week, The Echo sat down with Izzy, Lana, and Emma speaking on behalf of the students at Liberties College involved with ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’, performing in the Civic from May 13 to 16 at 7:30pm each evening.

Check the Civic website for booking details.

What inspired you to get involved in this production of ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’? What was it that made you decide you wanted to adapt this particular show?

Emma: I have always been passionate about performing and Bull Alley is the place I felt I could best pursue performing across the board.

Before committing to my decision to come to Bull Alley, I saw their production of ‘Made In Dagenham’, and the decision came very easily regarding wanting to perform.

What has been involved in this production so far (auditions, acting, singing, dancing, costume design, lighting, sound design, music, stage management, etc.)?

Izzy: So far, so much has been involved in this production.

From auditions and callbacks with our director, MD and choreographer; and acting through song and dance from both our amazing ensemble and our phenomenal principal actors to behind-the-scenes work such as stage management from one of our amazing first years, Aureja; our dance captain, Emma; and the three of us posting on social media and advertising daily!

Some of us recently went into some local bars and coffee shops and stuck up some posters with a QR code for our tickets.

One of the biggest venues that supported us through this has been The George, and we hope to introduce many more drag fans and performers to this amazing musical.

We have also had some students from other courses in the college take some amazing photos of our rehearsal process.

What has been your favourite part of working on this production so far and why?

Lana: My favourite part about working on the musical is working as a team.

It’s great to see the bones of a musical become a full-on show with the help of everyone involved.

Each week we see bigger improvements that add to the show.

We are so excited for audiences to see this show.

What have been some of the biggest challenges involved with this production so far, and how have you navigated them?

Emma: Our biggest challenge with this musical was working with difficult themes, such as single mother, disappointed father who is also not in the picture, and the biggest being inequality and judgement that Jamie faces every day with being gay and also wanting to pursue his dream of becoming a drag queen.

For our cast, it was a daunting task at first, but every single person in the cast was easily able to take on this task.

Isabella Stritch, who plays our Margaret, for example, plays her character incredibly well; you feel the songs and the scenes she’s in.

Will you be producing future musical events at Liberties College?

Lana: Yes, there will be future productions. Each year the Performance foundation course perform in a Greek production, which they perform in Liberties College’s Marks Alley, and then a modern play, which is performed in the Civic Theatre, Tallaght.

Each year the advanced actor course takes part in two productions: Shakespeare and Restoration comedy.

In May, the two courses come together to put together a musical performed in The Civic Theatre, Tallaght.

What are you hoping will be the audience’s biggest takeaways from ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie?

Izzy: We hope that the audience will leave this show with open minds and open hearts.

The lessons that are taught in ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ are valuable to those of all ages and upbringings.

We also hope that the audience will come away with even bigger admiration and respect for theatre and performers as fans of musicals and theatre, if they aren’t already.

Most importantly, we hope that the audience will be leaving with a smile on their faces.

While the show has its lower points emotionally, its upbeat and inspiring ending aims to have the entire audience in a wonderful mood.

Who would you like to thank for making this show possible?

Izzy: We would like to thank absolutely everyone involved in making this show possible.

Our director, Simon, for bringing things from page to stage; our musical director, Brian, for teaching us such wonderful harmonies and making us sound the best we can; our choreographer, Nicole, for teaching us how to tell the stories through dance; our principal, Siobhan, for providing us with the means to do it all; all of the Liberties College staff for opening and closing every day and giving us the space to rehearse this amazing show; and all of the staff in the Civic Theatre who not only give us an amazing space to perform but also help us out as much as they can with marketing, advertising, connections and more!

And lastly, we would like to thank our amazing cast of students for putting together such a brilliant show.