Performing on stage as Freddie Mercury is an honour and absolutely terrifying for Giles Taylor.
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The United Kingdom-born performer takes on the lead role as part of Queen tribute show, Queen: It’s a Kinda Magic, which has been touring around the globe.
Taylor alongside Australians Richie Baker as Brian May on guitar and Kyle Thompson as Roger Taylor on drums, as well as South Africa’s Steven Dennett as John Deacon on bass, will bring back the glory days of Mercury and Queen during the Launceston leg of the tour.
For Taylor, the role also meant 40 minutes of makeup from the waist up until he would do double-takes when he saw photos from the show.
It took eight months of auditions before he discovered he was successful.
After performing in the West End theatre scene, Taylor had vocal training to strip back the theatre training and prepare him for the vocal range of Mercury.
“It’s hard to forget how to do something,” he said.
About seven months after the cast started rehearsing, they were on the stage in New Zealand for the first shows.
“The show is effectively a visual montage of Queens best live performances,” Taylor said.
It was based on Queen’s 1986 world tour, but captured songs from the mid 70s to 1991 when Mercury died, he said.
He summed up the show as “a mind-boggling extravaganza of joy”.
Queen: It’s a Kind Magic performs at Princess Theatre on Monday at 8pm.
For tickets, visit theatrenorth.com.au