We Will Rock You - Young at Part

By Queen and Ben Elton. Aquinas College. Directed by Emma Leopardi. McAppion Theatre, Aquinas College, Salter Point, WA. Oct 23-25, 2024

We Will Rock You - Young at Part was presented by Year 7 to 9 students from Aquinas Middle School, with guest female performers from various schools. I was lucky enough to see this production with Aquinas’ Year 7 cohort who watched with rapt attention and gave the show a standing ovation. 

This Young at Part version is a good cut of the full-length production that maintains the integrity of the original, and Aquinas has managed to stage it well on the compact McAppion stage, with an industrial feel set by Lachlan Bowyer, Lucy Hughes and Bina Butcher. The live 4-piece band, led by Musical Director Chris McMillan on keys, were visible on stage and sounded great.

Our hero Galileo Figaro is played with top-notch self-assuredness and fine voice by Andrew Crawford, who anchors the show with expertise. Leading Lady Poppy Bartlett plays Scaramouche, as a lovely blend of sweetness and rebel.

Chance Humble, resplendent in a kilt, plays rough around the edges Brit with aplomb, while Sophia McMillan is excellent as his “chick” Oz. Oliver McKinnon shows maturity in a laid-back portrayal as Buddy, leader of the rebels.

We have some great villains in We Will Rock You, and in this version, Killer Queen is played with lovely voice by Italia Cirillo, with her offsider Khashoggi given authority by Evan Kent.

Two ensembles totalling forty performers work with enthusiasm and execute Stella Fowler’s choreography with precision. 

Great to see such a high-quality production from such a young cast, and a credit to the staff and students at Aquinas.

Kimberley Shaw