The Manx Operatic Society is causing an explosion of colour, vibrance and talent at the Gaiety Theatre this week with its production of ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’.

Sneaking through the Gaiety’s back door to the show’s first dress rehearsal recently, I had a sense of skepticism about what the experience would be like - simply because of my own ambivalence for musical theatre.

However, the show had me hooked from minute one and it didn’t take me long to realise that there is no target audience - it’s for everyone to enjoy.

The show follows the character of Jamie New, a 16-year-old boy from Sheffield who is teased about his homosexuality.

We are immediately thrown into the story with an ensemble cast performing the musical number ‘And You Don't Even Know It’, which gave me the impression that this was the 4,000th time the cast had performed it in front of a crowd rather than the very first time.

This also gives Ben Gale (in the lead role of Jamie New) his first opportunity to shine, displaying the traits of a gay, sassy and confident teenager with great precision (and an impressive Yorkshire accent!).

We then soon learn about Jamie’s mother Margaret’s (portrayed by Lisa Dancox) life as a single mum, and her close friendship with best friend Ray (Tracey McCann).

The relationship on-stage between Jamie, Margaret and Ray is one of my favourite parts of the show, with all three of them having great chemistry and bouncing off of each other in numerous scenes within their shabby kitchen setting.

A key theme of the show is Jamie’s exploration of his drag persona (Mimi-Me), with his mentor Hugo - otherwise known as Loco Chanelle - encouraging him to be who he wants to be.

As I was sitting in the Gaiety, I imagined that this show could serve as a way to reach out to those who might feel discouraged to explore who they are.

The confidence and swagger displayed on-stage by not just Ben, but the entire cast, serves as a reminder that you can be who you want to be - which felt more and more prevalent as the show progressed.

After an intriguing first half in which we are introduced to each character, the interval is then stopped by a rip-roaring rendition of the musical number ‘Everybody's Talking About Jamie’, which is easily my favourite scene in the show.

On a more technical level, the stage lighting is expertly done, while the cast’s ability to change the setting and props in between scenes highlights the teamwork between everyone in the crew.

All in all, Everybody's Talking About Jamie is a fantastic production which is thoroughly enjoyable from first minute to last, featuring a brilliant lead performance by Ben Gale.

The show will take place at 7:30pm each evening from Tuesday, March 18 to Saturday, March 22, with a further matinee showing at 2:30pm on Saturday.

To find out more and book tickets, you can visit https://www.villagaiety.com/whats-on/everybodys-talking-about-jamie/