For this next post, we’re only going back a few years, well to July 2018, so exactly three years. At this point, we were moving house and looking at places in Dundee, as my parents were moving there and I was starting uni there in September. With our stylish friend, Phyl, we went to see a performance of the musical ‘Everybody’s talking about Jamie’ streamed to the DCA (it’s fab when they put on stage productions at the cinema as it’s cheaper and easier to get to). ‘Everybody’s talking about Jamie’ was written by Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom McRae and premiered in Sheffield in 2017. It was inspired by the real story of Jamie from the 2011 documentary, ‘Jamie: Drag Queen at 16’ and a movie musical of ‘Everybody’s talking about Jamie’ is due to come out this year. The musical centres around sixteen-year-old Jamie New, who gets really badly bullied by homophobic classmates but ends up teaching them about acceptance, learning about himself and getting the happiness he deserves by creating a drag alter ego called Mimi and going to prom in a dress and heels like he always wanted. Jamie also shows true strength of character by being mature about his awful Dad, forgiving the bullies and having fun with his kind friend, Pritti. It’s a very moving, thought-provoking story and even though there are sad parts (the song ‘Ugly in this ugly world’ is quite a heartbreaker), on the whole, it’s mostly uplifting and heartwarming.
Some of the songs include ‘And you don’t even know it’, ’Everybody’s talking about Jamie’ and ‘The wall in my head’ (which is quite an effective, powerful metaphor for feeling stuck or as if things are holding you back or even if you feel that you’re getting in your own way). Margaret, who’s Jamie’s mother in the show, gets some really good, moving numbers too. For instance, her song ‘If I met myself again’, which features some brilliant choreography, gives the audience some insight into her as a character and her relationship with Jamie’s Dad, who’s now her ex, without directly stating too much in the lyrics or dialogue. There’s also something quite universal about it, as almost all of us have regrets or imagine what would have happened if we’d done one thing differently or if we could say something to our younger self. The song ‘He’s my boy’ is sung by Margaret after being shouted at by Jamie and it’s very touching and effectively conveys the unconditional love that many parents feel for their children or children who are in their care, no matter how complicated the relationship is or what they say or do, as for many parents, they might always see their kids as children who need looking after, even when they're adults themselves.
Another show that I saw that summer which is also based on a true story, is a Canadian musical called ‘Come from away’. It was a relatively short show that didn’t have an interval but it left quite an impact. I saw it with my Grandma’s sister, Morag and her lovely daughter, Fiona and Fiona’s husband, Justin, who were all kind enough to take me to dinner and the theatre, which was very sweet of them. Even though 'Come from away' is very different from ‘Jamie’, it has a similar vibe of not ignoring the upsetting, heart-breaking parts of life but maintaining a predominantly life-affirming, positive message. At the time, I was out visiting family in Ontario in Canada and we saw the show at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto. It was written by Irene Sankoff and David Hein and was first performed in 2013. It tells the real story of what happened during the 9/11 attacks, when 38 planes (and around 7000 people) had to land in a small town called Gander in Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. From the premise, it might sound like an impossible or depressing situation and it’s true that songs such as ‘Me and the sky’ explore the heart-breaking complexities of feeling that what you love the most can cause loss, pain and destruction as well as being a really cool, empowering feminist song. However, there is something so hopeful and inspiring about the musical, which is what sticks with most people who’ve seen it, as everyone comes together and forms a new community and develops a deeper level of respect and appreciation of each other. Almost all of the characters are based on real people and they all have their own personal stories and experiences, which the others are considerate about as they grow to trust each other. The show deals with themes such as death and loss but there’s also a big focus on community and friendship and even a hint at a romance with songs such as ‘Stop the world’. Even though it’s mostly a love song in the musical, some people might say that ‘stopping the world’ is what COVID-19 has been doing since 2020, which doesn’t sound as romantic.
However, in real life and in these musicals about real stories, there’s always going to be heartbreak, sadness and despair but there’s also always going to be love, hope and goodness and even when things seem hopeless, love should still find a way of winning and outweighing the bad.
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