Invercargill's Civic Theatre is getting ready to rock with the opening of Invercargill Musical Theatre's season of We Will Rock You tomorrow night (Friday, 8th July).

The smash hit musical, which feature songs by Queen set to a book by Ben Elton, originally premiered in 2002 and went on to become one of the longest-running shows in West End history. Since then, 16 million theatre-goers in 28 countries have been thrilled by this sound and light spectacular.

We Will Rock You production crew hang lights for Invercargill Musical Theatre's 2022 production. Photo: Supplied

Billed as a "hilarious futuristic comedy", the show is set in the distant future where musical instruments and composers are forbidden and rock music is all but unknown. It tells the story of a group of Bohemians who struggle to restore the free exchange of thought, fashion and live music while everyone dresses, thinks and acts the same.

The Invercargill iteration of this world-renowned show is being brought to life by a stellar line-up of the region's leading singers, dancers and musicians. In the very capable hands of seasoned Director Stephen Robertson and Musical Director Michael Buick and Choregrapher Gina Stevens, the cast is led by Ashleigh Reid as Scaramouche, Ben Hayward as Galileo, Michelle Lange and Killer Queen, Ruth McSoriley as Oz, Craig Waddell as Buddy, Jason Schmidt as Brit and Travis Luke as Khashoggi.

Ashleigh Reid in costume for tomorrow's opening performance. Photo: Supplied

A live rock band completes the line-up, delivering more than 24 of Queen's biggest hit songs including We Are The Champions, Radio Ga Ga, I Want To Break Free, Somebody To Love, Killer Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites The Dust and of course We Will Rock You, against a backdrop comprising a spectacular lighting show, set and costumes.

Robertson is a freelance director, staging and directing musical theatre productions throughout New Zealand. He has amassed an impressive resume of directing credits throughout the years. Previous Productions for IMT include: Me and My Girl, Anything Goes, Les Misérables (1994), Grease, Chess, Copacabana, Jesus Christ Superstar, West End to Broadway (1999), The Sound of Music, Chicago, Oliver, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia! and more recently Mary Poppins and Sister Act.  

Buick is well known for his work throughout Southland as a musical director, director, singer, actor, pianist and teacher. By day, he is responsible for Curriculum at Southland Boys’ High School, as well as heading their Music, Drama and Theatre Studies Faculty.

Voted Southland Entertainer of the Year in 1994, Buick’s involvement with the stage has almost been as long as it is varied. His musical direction credits for Invercargill Musical Theatre include A Slice Of Saturday Night, Nunsense II, The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Chicago, Cats, the Australasian premiere of Forbidden Broadway, The Sound of Music, All Seasons, Back To The 80s, Disco Inferno, Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, The Wizard Of Oz, Sister Act, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr, Grease: The Stadium Spectacular, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr and Wicked. In 2015, he was honoured to receive the OSTA (Otago and Southland Theatre Award) for Best Musical Director for his work on Mamma Mia! and was also recognised with a presentation for Contribution to Musical Development at the Southland Entertainment Awards. In 2020, Michael was once again honoured to receive the OSTA for Best Musical Director for Wicked. This year, his ongoing contribution to Invercargill Musical Theatre was recognised as he was appointed a Life Member of the society.

Stevens’ debut with IMT was the 1998 production of West Side Story, spawning a lifelong love of musical theatre. She has performed in numerous shows; Buddy Holly, Copacabana, Cabaret, Jesus Christ Superstar, Grease, Mary Poppins, Sister Act and theatre restaurants.

In 1999 she left Invercargill to attend full time classical ballet training in Auckland during which time she danced in The Australian Ballet company’s NZ tour of Manon and was talent for the Air NZ promotion supporting the arts. In 2009 she co- founded La Muse dance school in Invercargill where she shares her love of dance and performance with her students. We Will Rock You is one of her career highlights and sharing this experience with her daughter Ivy, who is on the dance team, is one she will cherish forever.

The SBS Bank season of We Will Rock You runs from July 8th to 23rd. CLICK HERE to book tickets.