UK Theatre Network

Noel Sullivan came to our attention in 2001 as one fifth of the Popstars winning group Hear’say.  Since then he’s popped up in TV cameos but concentrated on musical theatre roles on tour and in London’s West End.  This year he plays the lead role of Galileo Figaro in the UK National Tour of the Queen and Ben Elton musical “We Will Rock You”.

How does playing Galileo Figaro compare to other theatre roles you have experienced?  It’s been a massive undertaking because of the scale of the role compared to others that I have played.  I’m really pleased to land this role because I know that they have never cast a ‘name’ in the role of Galileo before.  I feel like I’ve earned my stripes in the industry and this role represents serious progress for my career.

The songs are massive in terms of range and impact; how do you keep your voice in condition when you play 8 shows a week?  I have to look after myself because the role is as much a lifestyle as a job in terms of keeping my voice healthy.  I occasionally do ’24 hours of silence’ but I’ve found my voice getting stronger in the tour and it’s easier to maintain.

The tour runs until January 2012 reaching just under 1 million fans in that time.  How does it feel to reach so many people with your performance?  It’s amazing.  Those numbers are huge and I’ve never been on a tour for this long.  It’s daunting in a way … but it becomes possible when you take each venue and each performance one at a time.

Cardiff is the next UK city stop!  Are you excited?  I can’t wait.  For me, it will be a personal highlight because I feel that The Millennium Centre is one of the finest venues that we have to offer as a country and this will be my first time as the lead in a show of this scale coming home. 

Which songs get the best reaction for you?  Some are just blatantly obviously brilliant like “I Want To Break Free” where you can almost feel the audience enjoy it from the off.   As a singer “Who Wants To Live Forever”, “We Are The Champions”, …  and more are amazing to perform and have a range that you just don’t get in any other shows.  They’ve not been written for a tenor or a baritone, they’ve been designed for Freddie as a rock song, so they are unique.

Describe the audition process.  I was petrified by it all!  I did six auditions and an acting workshop onstage at the Dominion Theatre with Ben Elton.  That was quite a big deal because I remember him as a stand-up and comedy writer for TV when I was younger.  In the finals I sang in front of 35 people on the panel including Brian May and Roger Taylor.  Massively nerve wracking but ultimately satisfying when you land the role.

Its 20 years since the untimely death of Freddie Mercury and almost 9 years since WWRY opened in the West End.  What do you think drives the undying popularity of Queen’s music?  The songs are all so dramatic and each one has a brilliant hook or an amazing arrangement.  I said to Brian May that, as a kid, with my choral background, I really admired his arrangements.  He replied that having watched me go through the Hear’say process he would never imagined that I was the kind of guy who would come up to him to say I admired his arrangements!

You shared the stage with Brian May a couple of weeks ago as he surprised Glasgow fans with a special guest appearance … what was going through your mind as you sang your last note?  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  It was one of those moments that makes all the hard work and disappointments of your career worthwhile.  And there was a feeling from the audience that I have never experienced before.

Do you feel “under pressure” performing Queen songs?  Yeah! Even just from a financial level, there is so much money behind this show.  The technical support in the form of sound, lighting and effects is a level above what you would expect to see on a national tour.  But also the music … when you are singing those songs live there is a sense of responsibility … these are like ‘fabric of the nation’ songs.

Are you enjoying the experience in Glasgow? I really think that there are only a few places in the country where people go out with an attitude where they want to have a good time.  Glasgow is one of those places.  When you perform here, it feels like an event.

Do you get any time to relax or socialise when on tour?  I try to cram it in!!  It is really tempting with a cast that are so young and have a lot of fun … but you also have to have the responsibility on your shoulder that you’ll be knocking out those notes again tomorrow night.

You’ve had some quite diverse experiences since your 2001 talent show breakthrough on Popstars.  I saw you on Gavin and Stacey the other night!  Any particular highlights for you?  This part is definitely a career highlight for me and particularly sharing the stage with Brian May.  My first West End lead as Danny Zucco in Grease is up there and I got to sing with Cat Stevens on his Moonshadow tour … I should make a list of legends I want to work with …!

Any ambitions that you can tell us about?  I would really love it if I had the opportunity to play Galileo in the West End.  I have committed wholly to theatre this year.

Jenny Douglas is the 19 year old from Edinburgh who reached the quarter-final stage of the BBC’s “Over The Rainbow” search for Dorothy in 2010.  She has joined the national tour of the Queen and Ben Elton musical “We Will Rock You” in the role of “Meat”.  The show tours until January 2012.

What has your last year been like?  A bit mental!  I left high school, I went to college, I dropped out of college to appear on “Over The Rainbow”, I auditioned for We Will Rock You, I got the part and now I’m exactly where I wanted to be!  I think to myself … “how did that happen??”.

How did you feel about joining the cast of such a hugely popular show?   I don’t know how to put it into words … it was an amazing feeling.  I saw the show with my mum a year before joining the cast.  I was brought up on Queen music and I said to her “wouldn’t it be great if I could do that”.  I can really feel what the audience feel when the first number, “Innuendo” starts because I was in the audience not so long ago!

Do any of the songs in the show have a special meaning for you?  So many songs … I used to watch a Queen video that had music videos and backstage footage all the time!  I know exactly what Freddie wore in each of the songs!  I really love “No-one But You”, not just because I sing it … because it is a moving tribute to the greats of rock who died young.  The Glasgow audiences have reacted really strongly to that song – you can hear an “aww” out loud!  The audience can really add to the performance.

Have you been starstruck since you started the tour?  When Brian May and Roger Taylor came to the opening of the Glasgow show, that was something special.  When Brian played Bohemian Rhapsody onstage, we were all around him bowing “we’re not worthy” and I was actually greetin’, I was so happy!  I was inches from him.

Are Brian and Roger actively involved with the production?  Yes, they were involved in the audition process, they support the show on the press nights and events and I believe they have a strong say in casting decisions.  It really is their show.

Meat couldn’t be more different from Dorothy … which of the roles is a more natural fit?  I wouldn’t have auditioned for Dorothy if I didn’t think I could do it but Meat is more suited to me as a performer.  I see myself as a singer first and I can really sink my teeth into her songs.  I do bring a bit of my boldness and bossiness to the role – I didn’t realise I could be like that!  Meat takes that to the extreme, though.

You previously toured with “Any Dream Will Do” finalist, Keith Jack.  Did that experience help you?  Wow … that seems like ages ago!  Not directly, the tour was ‘here and there’ while I was at college so I didn’t have to leave home for long.  But Keith has been a great support to me through the auditions and a great friend.  One thing that I did learn to appreciate was that an audience pays real money to be entertained and Keith is such an amazing performer, I learned a lot from him.

Do you have any plans to record or release music in the future?  Not at the moment.  My “Pops” (my dad) would love that.  That’s what I really wanted when I was younger but I found a passion for acting and costumes and character voices so I’m happy in theatre for now.  I’ve written songs and I really admire artists like Adele and Ellie Goulding.  I’m only 19, though, and my voice is still developing so you never know …

The smash-hit musical collaboration between Queen and Ben Elton rocks into Glasgow this week for a month-long run at the city’s King’s Theatre.

The show premiered in 2002, achieving the enviable feat of combining 24 of the world’s best loved rock songs with a musical narrative that was engaging and entertaining in equal measure.  Set in a future world where musical instruments are banned and the only permitted music is “programmed”, the story takes the dumbed down x-factor inspired music era to a logical conclusion where rock has become legend.  Enter dreamer Galileo (Noel Sullivan) who ‘want’s to break free’ from this musical oppression and rebellious Scaramouche (Amanda Coutts) as his ‘somebody to love’ – you’re getting how this works!  The thing is, as fantastic as the story is, it all works very well because the show is bound together by some of the greatest songs every written, and characters are broadened by the keen wit of one Mr. Elton.

From a production standpoint, the show doesn’t disappoint.  Music is authentically reproduced with sound production and quality of players worthy of Queen’s legendary live performance reputation.  With Brian May and Roger Taylor actively involved with the tour, we couldn’t expect any less!  The show is very high tech (this is rarely a good thing on a touring production) but every queue was executed precisely with lighting, sound effects, dialogue, music and video all smoothly synchronized.  Mark Fisher’s production design had a real ‘wow factor’ throughout, Willie Williams’s lighting was possibly the best touring set I’ve ever seen and Arlene Phillips’s choreography showed great contrast between the Ga Ga and the Bohemian dancer groups adding an extra character dimension.

But even with all of these production superlatives, the show was still stolen by the performances onstage.  Noel Sullivan (of “Hear Say” fame) got a chance to show off his skills as a rounded actor as well as an incredibly talented vocalist hitting every Freddy Mercury inspired note.  Amanda Coutts blew the audience away with a powerful vocal performance and a highly likable comedic character.  These two were wonderfully supported by a talented cast including Jonathan Wilkes (Khashoggi), Ian Reddington (Pop) and local lass, Jenny Douglas (Meat).

People will be rushing ‘headlong’ for these tickets putting the box office ‘under pressure’!  Book today.

WE WILL ROCK YOU

Kings Theatre, Glasgow

Tuesday 18th January 2011 – Saturday 19^th February 2011

Performances: Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Wed and Sat mats 2.30pm

Ticket Price:  £17 - £41.50

Booking Line: 0844 871 7648 (bkg fee) Groups and Schools 0141 240 1122

Website: http://www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow  (bkg fee)

QUEEN AND BEN ELTON’S “WE WILL ROCK YOU”

ANNOUNCES SECOND UK TOUR

UK Tour to kick off again in late 2010, while the record-breaking run at London’s Dominion Theatre continues

Following the huge success of the 2009 regional tour of the smash hit Queen and Ben Elton musical, ‘”We Will Rock You” comes the announcement that the show will return to the road in 2010.

The production will be rocking across Scotland, visiting Glasgow from 18^th January to 19^th February 2011, Aberdeen from 8^th June to 2^nd July 2011 and Edinburgh from 29^th November 2011 to 7^th January 2012.  (NB: GLASGOW DATES ON SALE 10 MAY 2010)

The production is returning to Edinburgh with an impressive legacy after it sold out its 10 week run at the theatre, as well as shattering the box office sales records by grossing more than £400,000 in one week, which broke all records for any production at the Playhouse Theatre since the millennium. The show will be visiting Glasgow and Aberdeen for the first time.

On announcing the new dates, Queen’s Brian May said: “The touring production of WWRY has taken our show to new places in more ways than one!  The London show thunders on, and continues to delight audiences, but the touring cast and band have brought a new interpretation and style all of their own. It's a tonic!”

Last year’s tour of the acclaimed production visited six cities starting in March 2009 and coming to an end in style at Dublin’s O2 Arena at the end of January 2010.  The tour sold over half a million tickets, setting and smashing box office records.

The London production of the show is now in its eighth year and it is the longest running musical ever staged at the West End’s Dominion Theatre and is now booking until October 2010. The musical has so far been seen by 11 million people in 17 countries and is also due to open in Utrecht (Netherlands), Sweden (Stockholm) and Berlin (Germany) this year.

The production is directed by Ben Elton, with Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor as music supervisors and Arlene Phillips overseeing the musical staging and choreography.

Writer Ben Elton has fashioned a hilarious futurist comedy around more than 24 of Queen’s biggest hit songs delivered in a show that boasts the scale and spectacle that marked Queen’s live performances. 

 “This show is all about legend,” says Ben Elton. “We take the legend of Queen and create our own fantastical story of young kids battling the might corporations who want to suppress their individuality and their love of music.  They need a hero who can help them in their struggle, and we have two – the dreamer Galileo and the sassy rock chick Scaramouche. Guess who ends up winning?”

Says Brian May: “The amazing bonus is that Ben's script subtly works as a metaphor too. People definitely come out of the theatre feeling that in a strange way they now know us, Queen, and our struggle, our journey.” 

Says producer Phil McIntyre: “We are looking forward to taking this true rock extravaganza out on the road again. We had standing ovations night after night around the UK last year and we can’t wait to see that happen again.

The touring production reaches local UK theatres carrying with it an impressive legacy: when it first became news that one of Britain’s most phenomenally successful comedy writers Ben Elton was teaming up with legends of rock, Queen, for a musical there was much speculation on what such a unique collaboration would turn out. Especially when screen icon Robert de Niro became so impressed after attending the original workshop that his company Tribeca came on board as American partner.

We Will Rock You – not just a show, but a promise!

We Will Rock You UK Tour 2010/11/12:

Tickets on sale now - Theatre Booking Details:

Glasgow King’s Theatre

Tuesday 18th January 2011 – Saturday 19^th February 2011

Performances: Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Wed and Sat mats 2.30pm

Ticket Price:  £17 - £41.50

Booking Line: 0844 871 7648 (bkg fee) Groups and Schools 0141 240 1122

Website: http://www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow  (bkg fee)

NB: GLASGOW DATES ON SALE 10 MAY 2010

Aberdeen, His Majesty’s Theatre

Wednesday 8th June 2011 – Saturday 2^nd July 2011

Performances: 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

Ticket Price: £15 to £40.50, plus £1bf

Booking Line: 01224 641122

Website: boxofficeaberdeen.com

Edinburgh Playhouse

Monday 29th November 2011 – Friday 7^th January 2012

Performances: Mon- Sat @ 7.30pm, Wed & Sat @ 2.30pm

Ticket Price: £17.00 - £43.50

Booking Line: 0844 8447 1660

Website: www.edinburghplayhouse.org.uk

OFFICIAL WEBSITE -  www.wewillrockyou.co.uk/tour 

Further Queen information - www.queenonline.com

The tour is a Phil McIntyre Entertainment presentation with Queen Theatrical Productions.