Queen legends Brian May and Roger Taylor talk about jukebox musical We Will Rock You touring to Sheffield

We Will Rock You has thrilled more than 18 million theatregoers in more than 20 countries since its launch two decades ago.

And the jukebox musical, is set to dazzle audiences at Sheffield City Hall from August 27 to September 3, 2022.

Scriptwriter Ben Elton set the story in a dystopian future where Earth is called Planet Mall and musical instruments and composers are forbidden, the inhabitants wear the same clothes, think the same thoughts and exist in a brain-dead haze. Galileo, Scaramouche, Killer Queen and other Bohemians set out on a journey to discover the Holy Grail of Rock.

Brian May and Roger Taylor, who worked closely with Ben Elton on the songs contained within the production, admit that they had early reservations about staging a musical.

Brian said: “We were not initially convinced, not being fans of the ‘Musical Theatre’ genre on the whole. The show needed to work in a theatrical context and retain the rock, whilst also incorporating the spectacle, uniqueness and humour embodied by Queen.”

This was certainly an important aspect to include for Roger, who affirmed that, “We (Queen) took the music seriously, but we never took ourselves seriously. We always had the ability to laugh at ourselves. Some of the stage gear and even some of the music is quite humorous. The whole middle section of Bohemian Rhapsody was - we did a lot of daft things and a lot of experimentation.”

It was therefore important to do something new. Brian continues:“If we were going to go into this arena, the challenge was that we would somehow try and make it our own.”

Fortunately, this challenge was both accepted and triumphantly overcome. Brian remembers that: “There was a point where I realised there was a whole new area of creativity opening up to us if we wanted it - a whole new canvas to paint on”.

And ‘We Will Rock You’ is certainly creative. The show is fun, light and humorous, yet also contains those softer and, at times, heart-rending moments, which allow an audience to emotionally invest. Roger describes the show as “silly, but funny and making quite a lot of serious points while it goes on its rather daft course”. Echoing Brian’s determination to create something “new in every sense”, he goes on to reflect that the intention was “to keep it a bit gritty and make sure it’s not a typical show."

Thematically, ‘We Will Rock You’ couldn’t seem more relevant today: set in a world where individuality is no longer valued and being performed on a stage which is “breathtaking in terms of equipment” and “totally cutting edge technically”, the show arguably speaks to a modern audience more than ever.

Queen’s back catalogue is clearly standing the test of time, and this new tour of We Will Rock You is sure to be a stand-out spectacle.

Tickets are priced from £30.10. Go to www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk