Ben Elton is joining the cast of his hit musical We Will Rock You, saying it is a “dream come true”. The show, featuring the songs of Queen, is returning to the West End 21 years after it premiered in London. Set 300 years in the future, it tells of rock rebels fighting against an all-powerful company to gain freedom.
Comedian Elton, 63, who directed and wrote the script, will take on the role of rebel leader in a 12-week run in his stage acting debut – which will see him sing the classic tune These Are The Days Of Our Lives.
Elton revealed Queen guitarist Sir Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor suggested he take on the role.
He said: “Brian and Roger were suddenly ‘Well what about you?’
“They have watched me do it so often in auditions and in rehearsal. I’ve rehearsed this show all over the world and directed it with numerous companies.
“I have rehearsed an awful lot of people playing the rebel leader. And suddenly it is within the room – the idea of ‘Why don’t you do it?’
“I was like ‘Oh God, I don’t know if I want to do three months’ but I thought ‘Hang on a minute – this is a dream come true’.”
He explained that the Queen stalwarts “stay very close” with the show’s production, which ran for 12 years at the Dominion Theatre and has been staged in 28 countries. “The quality means a lot to them,” he said.
“They’ve been with me when I’ve been casting it. So the idea that they would agree…It wasn’t like they said they were desperate for me to do it.
“But just the idea percolated up and suddenly it was in the room… I said to Bri ‘Seriously?’ and he said ‘Yes, yes, effing yes’ so that was very nice.”
Elton, a writer on classic 1980s comedies Blackadder and The Young Ones, has plenty of stage experience as a veteran stand-up comedian.
He has also written 17 novels and other musicals including Love Never Dies. He revealed he had written himself out of a number of dances in We Will Rock You, but he will sing These Are The Days Of Our Lives.
He admitted: “That song, of course, is nerve-wracking. Freddie [Mercury] sang it and Roger wrote it – and that’s obviously a massive responsibility.”
We Will Rock You will run from June 2 at the London Coliseum.
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