Everybody needs to be talking about jamie as superb cast dazzle in south shields

The heels are as high as the talent levels in South Shields this week, as one of the most fierce and fabulous modern musicals is brought to the stage in fine fashion at The Customs House,

with the cast of Astravaganza Entertainment's Everybody's Talking About Jamie dazzling on opening night. A show that has been crying out to be done by regional theatre companies,

due to its fantastic score, brilliant script and hugely relatable themes, Everybody's Talking About Jamie is the story of an aspiring teenage drag queen, who actually hails from

Darlington, but in the stage version is born and bread in Sheffield. With big dreams of huge fame, huge hair and huge stilettos, Jamie is very different from every one around him, with a

desire to carve out a future for himself as million away from his suggested career as a fork lift truck driver. It's a fantastic role for any young actor to play and as

Astravaganza's Jamie, Corey Clarke gets a well deserved chance to show off both his singing and acting credentials, having taken on smaller parts in previous productions. Corey strikes

the balance between Jamie's drive and determination and the crippling lack of self worth he tries to keep hidden, in brilliant style; with him both a joy to watch and also

heart-wrenching in some of the more angst-filled moments like Ugly in this Ugly World. While his dad, who Chris Page successfully manages to make into a real villain, wants nothing more to

do with him, Jamie has three wonderful women right behind him, with mum Margaret his biggest cheerleader and Nathalie Baxter playing the role superbly well. Margaret is so desperate to keep

Jamie happy that she tells him birthday cards and flowers sent to him are from his dad, when in reality they're from her cash-strapped purse and, getting right to the heart of her

turmoil, Nathalie really embodies the emotional struggle Margaret faces, as well as the unconditional love she has for her son, making act two's He's My Boy a powerhouse number

that can't fail to hit you hard, with vocals to die for. Perhaps the character in the show you could have the most fun with, Margaret's best mate Ray is the perfect fit for Deborah

Taylor-Smith, with her bringing all of the warmth she brought the house down with as Nancy in Oliver a few years ago, along with a permanent naughty glint in her eye and hugely infectious

charisma. Then there's Emily Jones, who is absolutely top drawer as Pritti Pasha, the loyal friend who often casts her own anxieties and worries aside to go into bat for Jamie. I saw

the touring version of Everybody's Talking About Jamie a few years ago at the Theatre Royal, in Newcastle and, with her sensitive yet self assured presence and beautiful singing voice,

Emily would have been right at home on that stage, just as she was on the Customs House's. Her renditions of Spotlight and It Means Beautiful were both terrific and touching. And, on

the subject of performers in this production who are up there with professionals, step forward Morgan Newman. Known to plenty of Geordie revellers for being popular Newcastle drag queen Pia

Pressure, Morgan is simply sensational as Local Chanelle, the unlikely confidante for Jamie, who strives to boost his young protégé's confidence while struggling with a longing to

return to her past glory days. As both Loco's less lavishly dressed alias Hugo and Loco herself, Morgan is a total scene stealer, with the acting, the singing, the nuances all 10/10.

This is a star turn full of vigour and conviction and is without any shadow of a doubt, one of the best performances I've seen on a North East stage this year. Flanked by three drag

queen pals, played deliciously camp and bitchy by Gareth Ducasse, Christopher Perry and David Ducasse, Morgan's Over The Top is a real highlight from a score that's not short of

them. As Miss Hedge, Jade Henderson made the stage her catwalk for the Vogue-esque Work of Art, while the whole cast looked like they are having a ball in numbers like show opener And You

Don't Even Know It and Everybody's Talking About Jamie, the earworminhgly emphatic title track that kicks things off after the interval. While audiences are meant to thoroughly

despise the character of school bully Dean Paxton, Kyle Craggs manages to play him in cheeky manner a way that stops from wholeheartedly heating him, while all of the ensemble who take on

the parts of Jamie's Year 11 classmates are both exuberant and enthusiastic throughout, with another of the production's trump cards being its really vibrant and effective staging.

If CHRONICLELIVE let us give half stars Astravganza's Everybody's Talking About Jamie would definitely be a 4.5 from me. It's so close to being a full 5/5 and I think, when

the cast really get into their groove as the week goes on, it very easily could be. EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE IS ON AT THE CUSTOMS HOUSE ON UNTIL SATURDAY, MAY 24.