• Caleb Muller -Brit in the Bruce Mason Centre performances of We Will Rock You.
  • Annie Crummer again takes the role of Killer Queen.

We Will Rock You – the global phenomenon returns to Auckland

Queen fever has hit Auckland with the release of the internationally loved Queen biopic film ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ last year, and the legends themselves heading to New Zealand early in 2020. But this year, the North Shore gets its own taste of the iconic music from one of the world’s biggest bands when the smash hit West End musical ‘We Will Rock You’ returns for a strictly limited season, playing at the Bruce Mason Centre from August 20th to September 7th this year.

The hilarious futuristic comedy musical written by Ben Elton (The Young Ones, Blackadder, Popcorn) boasts 24 of Queen’s biggest hits, complete with the scale and spectacle that marked the band’s legendary live performances. Since 2002, more than 16 million theatregoers in 28 countries have rocked out to this unique musical based around some of Queen’s biggest hits, including We Are The Champions, Radio Ga Ga, I Want To Break Free, Somebody To Love, Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now, Under Pressure, Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites The Dust and, of course, We Will Rock You.

For the Auckland season, Annie Crummer returns to the role of the Killer Queen, bringing to life the tyrannical boss of an all-powerful global company that has robbed the world of rock music, creating instead a bleak conformist reality. Known to most people in New Zealand for her incredible canon of pop music – which features working with some of the most iconic acts in our music history including Herbs, Netherworld Dancing Toys, and When The Cat's Away – Annie Crummer is a commanding force in the musical that pays tribute to the extensive catalogue of Queen. Outstanding in her performance, the incredible Kiwi singer has performed as Killer Queen since the first international production of We Will Rock You in Australia in 2003, and she reprised the role for tours to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand, as well as the previous Auckland shows in 2007 and 2009. Now making her way to the jewel in the crown of North Shore theatre, the Bruce Mason Centre, Crummer is delighted to bring to world-famous show to a whole new audience.

Opposing the Killer Queen are the Bohemians, a rag-tag handful of rock rebels who embark on the search to find the unlimited power of freedom, love and rock music. With an entirely local cast, many of the actors cast as Bohemians have come through North Shore Theatre, including 20 year old Caleb Muller in the role of Brit. Caleb, who has previously performed at the Globe Theatre in London as a member of the Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand Young Shakespeare Company, comes into the production fresh from travelling to New York to train on Broadway with Broadway Dreams this July. This iteration of We Will Rock You also has a special connection with the Shore, as the cast has spent months rehearsing in North Shore Musical Theatre’s Birkenhead home.

Set in the year 2350, We Will Rock You explores a possible future where live music has been banned around the world by the Killer Queen’s dictatorial Globalsoft Corporation. Musical instruments and composers have been forbidden and rock music has all but disappeared from memory, as just one measure of controlling the population that is forced to think, act, and dress the same. The rebellious Bohemians, led by Galileo and Scaramouche, are fighting against the grain in a mission to restore music, fashion, and free thought, reflected in the energy and genius of the music of Queen. With original Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor as music supervisors behind the original production, lovers of the iconic songs will be swept up in this high-octane tale of the power of music.

This production is brought to the North Shore by Theatre Co. Executive producer Regan Crummer says the winning formula of the music of Queen combined with the brilliant comedic writing of Ben Elton will have audiences on their feet, nearly 20 years on from its debut. “They are going to be totally immersed in what is basically an epic rock concert!”

We Will Rock You plays at the Bruce Mason Centre August 20 - September 7, 2019

Book at www.ticketmaster.co.nz

Tickets $60-$90 plus any booking fees