SuzzisSpotlight

“Could this show be Scotland’s answer to Six the musical?”

Mary, Queen of Rock is a contemporary rockin retelling of the history of Mary queen of Scots with a banging soundtrack and powerhouse vocals galore.

It follows the history of Mary Stuart’s reign and downfall, told from the perspective of her ladies in waiting. Although not completely historically accurate, the show adds a contemporary twist with the soundtrack and costumes. I loved and appreciated the use of family tartans for each character.

Performed with a live band on stage, this production features a mixture of rock, pop, and musical theatre style songs. Led by Mhairi McCall as Mary, this cast is full of rocking vocals and incredible riffs. Mhairi shows off her vocal abilities and stunning range throughout the shows’ musical numbers.

Could this show be scotland’s answer to Six the musical? Similarly to Six, it’s set as a concert style show and has some catchy feminist songs, including the final song “Loud Woman“.

With the live band on stage there were times where this drowned out the cast, in particular the drums along with some technical issues with the microphones that took away from the performance as it was difficult to hear what they were singing about in parts.

Nicola Alexander, who played Mary Fleming and Queen Lizzie, was the stand-out performance for me with her hilarious and sassy performances as Queen lizzie and gorgeous pop vocals she’s a superstar.


Although this performance has come teething issues, I’m sure this will improve as this show grows, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for Mary, Queen of Rock! Hopefully, a cast recording and tour as this show has so much potential.

Catch Mary, queen of rock at Assembly Rooms until 25th August at 9.20pm.

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