Jamie Campbell (personality)

Jamie Joseph Campbell (also known as Fifi la True) is a British drag queen and media personality who is the inspiration behind the musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie and its film adaptation.

Jamie Campbell
Jamie Campbell at the 2018 Olivier Awards
Born
Jamie Joseph Campbell

(1994-12-12) 12 December 1994 (age 29)
NationalityBritish
Other namesFifi la True

Early life

edit

Campbell was born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham. He was raised by his mother Margaret. His parents divorced when he was 7 years old.[1] He came out as gay at the age of 14.[2]

Campbell attended St John's Catholic School from 2005 to 2011 and studied his A-Levels at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College.

Documentary

edit

In 2011 Campbell contacted a number of film production companies, proposing to capture the story of his journey to high school prom in drag.[3] Director, Jenny Popplewell,[4] alongside Firecracker Films[5] produced Jamie: Drag Queen at 16[6] for BBC Three as a part of their Extraordinary Me series.

Musical

edit

Director Jonathan Butterell saw the documentary by chance and decided to turn it into a musical.[7] He worked with writer Tom MacRae and composer Dan Gillespie Sells for the score.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie premiered at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in February 2017. West End Producer Nica Burns saw the show and brought it to the Apollo Theatre in November 2017 where it ran until September 2021.

Alongside the West End production, there have been two UK tours[8] and international productions in the USA,[9] Mexico,[10] Italy,[11] South Korea[12] and Japan.[13]

The musical was nominated for 5 Olivier Awards[14] and won Best New Musical at the WhatsOnStage Awards[15]

Film

edit

Warp Films acquired the rights to adapt the stage show for the on-screen musical version of the same name. Butterell, MacRae and Gillespie-Sells served in the same roles as they did for the original musical for the film adaptation.[citation needed]

New Regency and Film4 Productions produced the film and the distribution rights were originally with Disney via their acquisition of 20th Century Studios.[citation needed]

Originally intended for a 23 October 2020 release, the film was pushed back because of the Covid 19 epidemic. The film was eventually released on 17 September 2021 by Amazon Studios on Amazon Prime.[citation needed]

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie was nominated for Outstanding British Film at the 75th BAFTA Awards in 2022.[16]

References

edit
  1. ^ "I was banned from prom for dressing in drag – now my story is a West End musical". BBC Three. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  2. ^ Lee, Veronica (4 November 2017). "'A lad in a frock': the gay teen who inspired a West End show". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  3. ^ Frymorgen, Tomasz (2017-12-15) (23 January 2018). "I was banned from prom for dressing in drag – now my story is a West End musical". BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Jenny Popplewell Filmography". BFI. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  5. ^ Firecracker, Films. "Firecracker Films Homepage". Firecracker Films. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  6. ^ "BBC Three - Jamie: Drag Queen at 16". BBC. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  7. ^ Lee, Veronica (2017-11-04). "'A lad in a frock': the gay teen who inspired a West End show". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Everybody's Talking About Jamie UK". everybodystalkingaboutjamie. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  9. ^ Ell, Jenny (2021-08-14). "Layton Williams & Bianca Del Rio to reprise roles in North American premiere of EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE". West End Best Friend. Retrieved 26 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Jamie el Musical, Mexico". jamieelmusical. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  11. ^ "'Everyone is talking about Jamie', a musical that breaks all prejudices and gives a universal message". Italian Post. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  12. ^ Eun-byel, Im (2020-07-28) (28 July 2020). "Herald Review 'Jamie' kicks out hate with red high heels". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 26 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Everybody's Talking About Jamie is a smash hit West End musical. A Japanese version will be performed in Tokyo in August this year". Japan-British Society. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Olivier Awards 2018: Winners in full". BBC News. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  15. ^ Bowie-Sell, Daisy (2018-02-25) (25 February 2018). "Winners of the 18th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards announced: David Tennant and Olivia Colman win". Whats On Stage. Retrieved 26 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Raven, Chris (2022-02-04) (4 February 2022). "Everybody's Talking About Jamie movie scoops BAFTA nomination". West End Theatre. Retrieved 26 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)