It’s almost impossible to talk about the glorious uplifting stage musical Everybody’s Talking About Jaime without thinking that the show is like Billy Elliot being grown up and gay . Steeped in very similar references, it is the story of a boy living in blue collar Northern England who against all odds just wants to dance. Except unlike Billy, Jaimie wants to do it in Drag.
With music by Dan Gillespie Sells and book and lyrics by Tom MacRae, the musical is inspired by the 2011 BBC Three documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, the true story who had such a burning ambition to get into a frock and perform. The stage show was created in Sheffield where the story is based, but was such a singular success that it soon found its way into London’s West End. Collecting rave reviews when it opened in 2017 , it also picked up 5 Olivier Award Nominations (the Brit’s equivalent to a Tony), and this film is of the London stage production and has already been transmitted globally by National Theatre Live.
The story starts at school when Miss Hedges (Tamsin Carroll) the careers teacher is asking what all the kids want to do for work. When 16 year old Jaime (John McCrea) who has never hidden his sexuality, declares he wants to be a drag queen, his answer is met with derision. It is only his single-parent mother (Josie Walker) who encourages him and gives him his first pair of (very) high heels as a birthday present. She also goes to the trouble of pretending that his (homophobic) father (Ken Christiansen) who she divorced is supportive too, but that lie will naturally unravel later.
When trying to choose a dress Jaime encounters the store’s owner Hugo (Phil Nicol) who used to be a big drag queen star himself…..in his eyes the biggest …. and the older man encourages the hesitant Jaime to be bold and follow his dream. That means doing an act at the local Drag Bar the very next week.
Jaime’s best friend at school is Pritti (Lucie Shorthouse) an intelligent hijab wearing Muslim who couldn’t be more different then him, but the fact that they both belong to minorities that are subject to abuse bonds them even more.
Jaime’s journey with all its up and downs is told with such a passion and energy that is impossible not to be carried away. It’s a dynamite of a real feel-good show that benefits from not from just its very authentic story, but the extremely talented cast that has been assembled to perform it. A very young looking 26 year old McCrea puts in what will be remembered as a career best performance despite whatever he goes on to do later : he is pitch perfect for the role in which he throws his heart and sole into with such infectious enthusiasm.
He however is not the only star as Josie Walker playing his mother gets a few standing ovations if her own for her compassionate and plaintive singing .
There is talk about actually adapting the stage play into a film in its own right which will probably be so much better, because if nothing else 160 mins in this version is too long BUT the film is such a bundle of joy and sheer delight to watch, so for the time being, it’s more than enough.
