The singer joins her We Will Rock You c0-star and director Ben Elton to tell us how they’re bringing a kind of magic to the hit show
BRENDA EDWARDS
Music has always been a passion for singer and West End star Brenda Edwards, which is why her role in the hit musical We Will Rock You amuses her.
“I love live music so it’s quite ironic that I’m playing the role of a woman who is trying to abolish it,” says the the 54-year-old Loose Women star, who plays Killer Queen, a powerful character looking to ban musical instruments.
The show, which returns to the capital at the London Coliseum 21 years after its debut, is based around the songs of Queen, including hits Another One Bites the Dust, We Are the Champions and Radio Ga Ga.
“That’s what I’m really looking forward to: getting on that stage and hearing that opening score for the show and just hearing the band,” Brenda tells HELLO!. “I’ve been singing and listening to Queen songs for as long as I can remember. They’re part of the UK’s history.”
Set hundreds of years in the future, We Will Rock You follows a group of rebels called the Bohemians in their fight for freedom after Killer Queen threatens the future of great music.
Brenda has played the role before, during the musical’s UK tour in 2009 and later at the Dominion Theatre in London until 2014.
It’s her years of stage experience in shows including Chicago and Carmen Jones that We Will Rock You’s writer and director Ben Elton values as he joins the cast for the first time in the show’s history.
“Brenda is not just a fantastic voice, she’s also a brilliant comedian,” he says. “She’s about the sweetest, kindest person you could ever meet and her laugh literally lights up the room. She wants to know what I think, what I want to offer, and she’s always listening.”
Ben plays the Rebel Leader – a Queen fan – and joins not only Brenda, but Wicked star Lee Mead and Olivier Award nominee Ian McIntosh in the production.
Casting happened “really unexpectedly” during a meeting with Queen musicians Sir Brian May and Roger Taylor, he tells us.
“There were quick conversations going around and suddenly the idea came about that maybe I could play it. It had really been nowhere when I went into the room and by the time I left it, I was playing the role.
“Now I look back, I always feel as though I have always wanted to do it, but I wasn’t aware of that and so suddenly, out of the blue, I’ve got this massive personal challenge.”
While he can “hold a tune”, performing solo will be “very
