It's a kind of magic - Queen musical We Will Rock You proving a hit at Scarborough Spa - still time to see it

The production at Scarborough Spa is a collaboration between Scarborough Theatre Company, professional performers, educators, community talent and students from both Scarborough College and Scarborough Sixth Form College.

We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical based on the songs of rock band Queen with a book by comedian Ben Elton.

It is set in an apocalyptic landscape where the ruling class exercises control over its subjects – obsessed with the internet and mobile phones – by stealing their souls and squashing individualism.

A renegade group known as the Bohemians have escaped the clutches of the Killer Queen and her soldiers. Throw in a messiah-like ‘dreamer’ and his rock chick girlfriend in search of the lost axe – an electric guitar – and you have the plot.

Think of We Will Rock You as a futuristic Footloose – the musical in which dancing in a small American town was banned until a rock rebel comes along to set the townspeople free.

The story is an excuse to sing Queen’s hits – Radio Gaga, Another One Bites the Dust, Somebody to Love, A Kind of Magic, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Flash, Fat Bottomed Girls, Seven Seas of Rhye and Bicycle – with the links between the action and songs at best tenuous.

That said, there are lots of jokes and puns in the script which are hugely enjoyable.

Playing the confused saviour is Keane Liley who has a big voice, big heart and channels Queens’ lead singer Freddie Mercury vibes to deliver a powerhouse performance.

Outstanding as feisty, independent spirit Scaramouche is Sara Nelson who rocks the roof off the house with her delivery of the biggest ballads including I Want to Break Free. Liley and her duet Under Pressure is a highlight of the show.

A cameo from Will Ireland, who was Javert to Liley’s Valjean in Scarborough Sixth Form’s Les Miserables, as rebel leader Brit is a delight. His comic timing allowed him to wring every last drop of humour from the script.

Sarah Golder as Khashoggi, Phoebe Cheshire as Killer Queen, Theo Kalilombe and Amy Hunter as Teacher also make the most of their roles and, with the leads, make sure they get you from one hit to another without letting the pace flag.

Co-direction of Alex Weatherhill, of Scarborough Theatre Company, and the Sixth Form’s Richard Milburn is dynamic and imaginative. The use of projection elevates the show and helps mask the worst of its weaknesses, all due to the original writers.

Together, they have produced a kind of magic which is lapped up by an audience happy to do the fandango, wave their arms in the air and chant We Will Rock You.

The show is on at Scarborough Spa on Wednesday March 11 and Thursday March 12, daily at 7pm.

Tickets from Scarborough Community Box Office at: https://scbo.littleboxoffice.com/