WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN CHER HITS STAGE IN DUBLIN
The star of the hit Queen show tells Niamh Walsh why he refuses to imitate Freddie Mercury on stage
The Bord Gáis Theatre is poised to rock out to the booming beats of Queen as the feted musical We Will Rock You rolls into town this week.
The Ben Elton-penned musical, inspired by the legendary songs of the iconic band, has been touring for 17 years.
Taking on the lead role in this reimagined We Will Rock You is rising West End star Ian McIntosh, for whom there will only ever be one Freddie Mercury.
The talented actor and singer says he is bringing his best to the stage every night as he strives to give audiences a show worthy of champions.
‘It’s relatively fresh, but it’s going amazingly well so far. We have been on tour now for a bit and it has got an amazing reaction from the audience,’ he says.
And while McIntosh loves nothing more than sharing his musical talent, he says that performing in front of Queen band members was more than a little daunting.
‘The scariest one was when we were rehearsing in front of Queen. We were in a rehearsal room and you don’t have the audience response; you just have about 20, people from the producers. Then we had Brian, [May] Roger [Taylor] and Ben Elton, so we were giving them a show. It was scary but amazing,’ he says.
But he did not need to worry as May embraced the young star and welcomed the new cast into the extended Queen family.
McIntosh plays the lead role of Galileo, but the obvious comparisons to Mercury are often drawn.
‘Personally, we don’t go into this as an imitation of Freddy Mercury, I go in as a character called Galileo, who is the essence of rock’n’roll.
‘Obviously, you are going to get comparisons to Freddie Mercury which is insane really, because you will never get close,’ he says.
‘As long as we can stay true to the text and the words and the music we are singing and give it some, really give it some, on stage, then hopefully the audience won’t go away disappointed.’
The musical has been a sell-out success for over 17 years and while it has divided critics, it has been a hit with audiences.
The music of Queen has survived: a testament, says Ian, to the band’s core musical message.
He says: ‘I only have my opinion on it, but the message they bring to their music really strikes a chord with the heart of people’s fundamental beliefs. I think this helps transcend generations.’
The English star has been working in London’s West End for over 13 years since he left school and embarked on a musical career.
One of his favourite roles was as band member Deco in the stage version of The Commitments (played by Andrew Strong in the 1991 cult film) where, he says, hitting the high notes was not as difficult as tackling the accent.
‘I think I did get that dry humour. I had to work hard on the Northside Dublin accent though and I learned from Killian Donnelly. So I really just learned from his comedy and brought my own dryness to it and it worked,’ he says. ‘I remember coming out of the stage door and people asking: “What part of Ireland are you from?” And I was like “I’m from Coventry, in England.” It was massive. It was amazing to be part of it.’
And, he got an immersion in Irish musical culture.
‘Irish audiences are NOT quiet. They really get involved and at the end of the show they are totally up for it,’ McIntosh says.
And he can’t wait to return to Dublin and get the Irish audience rocking and rolling and stamping and chanting to the music of Queen.
We Will Rock You will be at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, from October 28 to November 2