Now that the Queen musical ‘We Will Rock You’ has returned for a 12-week run, Brian May took advantage of the opportunity to make a surprise cameo on opening night. Still, he admits in a recent Instagram post that playing there was almost as terrifying as performing on the top of Buckingham Palace.
According to the guitarist: “Coming up in a cloud of smoke from a trap door in the stage of the Coliseum Theatre and delivering a live slice of’Bohemian Rhapsody,’ when the entire packed auditorium has been dreaming of it happening the whole night, or so it seems, has got to be just about the greatest gift any guitar player could have.”
May went on to convey how excited he was by the performance: “The adrenaline shot it gives me is massive – literally knocking the breath out of me – partly because it has to be timed to a fraction of a second, and if anything gets stuck or misplaced, I could look very silly – partly because the audience seems to sense that I’m poised on a treacherous tightrope, making such a huge noise that I’m propelled into a state of huge over-adrenalisation and completely on the edge of combustion!”
However, being carried onto the stage by a platform from below was terrifying: “That risky stuff is similar to jumping off a cliff under a ‘parapente’ wing (I know, because I’ve done it) or riding the park’s biggest roller coaster (We’ve all done it – right?) – but in this case, I’m on my own with no safety net.” Not quite as daunting as performing live on the roof of Buckingham Palace in front of a half-billion people – but not far off.
After all, I must be an adrenaline junkie! Or are you simply a glutton for punishment? Anyway, it was a tremendous delight to do it on opening night – the Gala Performance, where I’m literally the icing on a gorgeous cake that the WWRY company has been cooking all night.” At the conclusion of his presentation, the Queen musician praised the WWRY cast and thanked the audience for their support:
“They put on a breathtakingly sharp show – nothing like it for a million miles.” Bless you, gentlemen! And thank you to everyone who has supported us thus far. Every seat is taken, so buy your tickets now! For providing this moment’s video – the greatest I’ve seen, thanks to Maria – who happened to be in the first row! Bri.” Many Queen tunes are included in the musical, including ‘Somebody to Love,’ ‘I Want to Break Free,’ ‘Don’t Stop Me Now,’ and ‘We Are the Champions.’ It will run through June, July, and August, with a final performance on August 27. You can see how Brian May startled the audience here.