We Will Rock You runs at the Alexandra Theatre until Saturday 13 June 2026.
We were invited to attend the press night of BMOS’s production of We Will Rock You at the Alexandra Theatre Birmingham last night.
Built around the music of Queen, We Will Rock You is set in a future where individuality is banned and music is controlled by Globalsoft, outsiders Galileo (Dan Smith) and Scaramouche (Charlotte Jervis) find themselves joining the rebel Bohemians – led by Brit (Gavin Whichello) and Oz (Heaven Okah), in a quest to bring rock music back to the world and take on the fearsome Killer Queen (Fiona Farnsworth).
Taking on a production of this scale is no small feat and it was clear throughout the evening just how much work had gone into bringing the show to life. If you have never heard or seen a show by BMOS before, where have you been? They are celebrating their 140th year this year, having run from 1886 to the current day. For a little background to the musical theatre group, the ‘Birmingham Opera Society’ was founded in 1886 and the ‘Midland Opera Society’ in 1916. In 1927 they decided to join forces to create BMOS – Birmingham and Midland Opera Society. They’ve performed numerous productions on the Alexandra Theatre stage since 2013 – my ultimate favourite being last years Les Miserables – Let The People Sing which was utterly fantastic.
There were several standout performances across the cast last night, Charlotte Jervis was impressive as Scaramouche, delivering superb vocals and confidently taking on a number of the show’s biggest musical moments. I’m unsurprised having looked through the programme that Charlotte received the BFAME Best Female in a Musical award for a previous production in which she played Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar. Dan Smith played the role of loveable Galileo, who at times I thought looked a little like he was playing Danny Zuko in Grease. Dan had the warmth and charm that the lead needed and his rendition of ‘I want to Break Free’ in Act One was really good.
The pairing of Oz and Brit, played by Heaven Okah and Gavin Whichello, provided many of the evening’s giggles in the audience. Gavin especially kept many of the audience howling every time he did a little kung fu style act. While Heaven’s vocals and stage presence portraying Oz were a real highlight.
One of the biggest strengths of the production came from the live music. The Midland Concert Orchestra were fantastic. Hearing these much-loved songs performed live is always special, and the orchestra played a huge part in creating the atmosphere on the night.
The ensemble also deserve recognition for the energy they brought to the stage. Large musical numbers require a huge team effort and the cast worked hard to create the scale and atmosphere that We Will Rock You demands.
There was a great atmosphere inside the theatre, with plenty of laughter and enthusiastic reactions from the audience throughout the evening. I thought giving people the opportunity to join in with the singing and take any photos/videos after the curtain call was a nice touch.
We Will Rock You by BMOS was a fun evening of musical theatre in Birmingham, featuring some standout performances, a talented live orchestra and a soundtrack packed with Queen classics.
More than anything, it was a real credit to everyone involved on and off stage. From the cast and musicians to the crew and volunteers working behind the scenes, you could clearly see the time, effort and passion that had gone into bringing this ambitious production to the Alexandra Stage.
If you would like to book tickets, you can do so here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/bmos-presents-we-will-rock-you/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham/
3.5 stars.
Disclaimer: We were invited to review the press night performance of We Will Rock You. All thoughts and opinions are entirely our own.