Everybody’s Talking About Jamie review - poignant moments and belly laughs galore in musical sensation on Northampton stage

It is not often a show makes me laugh and cry but Everybody’s Talking About Jamie did just that at the Derngate theatre last night (May 28).

The hit musical about a 16-year-old boy who dreams of being a drag queen featured as many poignant moments as it did belly laughs, and had the entire audience captivated.

Based on the true story of a young lad growing up in Sheffield who doesn’t fit in due to his love of dressing up as a girl, this musical sensation is as heartfelt as it is outrageous.

While Ivano Turco, who played Jamie, was fantastic, he was not the only star of the show. Rebecca McKinnis was breathtaking as his mum Margaret and it was her stunning performance of some beautiful songs about motherhood that had me in tears.

Sejal Keshwala as Ray, Jamie’s aunty figure, provided a lot of the comedy as did Strictly Come Dancing’s Kevin Clifton, who played as the charismatic drag queen, Loco Chanelle.

However, my favourite character was Pritti (Talia Palamathanan), Jamie’s witty and clever best friend, who is also targeted by relentless bully, Dean. But inspired by Jamie’s confidence she finally stands up to him in a moment that had the audience deliver a huge round of applause.

The dance routines and modern pop sounding songs were performed faultlessly by the cast, and although the tunes weren’t quite catchy enough to remember after the show had finished, they worked really well in helping to tell Jamie’s story.

The themes of motherhood, identity and having the confidence to be yourself were sensitively woven through the show and had me rooting for the characters to get their happy endings.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is one of those shows where the finale was so perfect, you leave the theatre on a high. So I was not surprised that the performance received a standing ovation.

I found Jamie’s story really uplifting and I think it will inspire teens (and grown ups!) to have the confidence to be their true selves – even if they are a bit different.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie runs until Saturday June 1. Visit royalandderngate.co.uk to book.