QUEEN 'We Will Rock You' Theatrical iPhone App To Be Launched In U.K.

Queen Theatrical Productions, the team behind award-winning musical "We Will Rock You" is preparing to launch the U.K.'s first-ever theatrical iPhone App.

The arrival of the game could not be more well-timed; it comes in a week when the producers of the show have announced that strong summer ticket sales have now pushed the show's worldwide audience over the 10 million mark.

"We Will Rock You - The Game" is a management simulator which puts the user to the test as the show's producer. By making the right decisions, the user's goal is to take the production of the smash hit musical "We Will Rock You" from a small school hall right up to the real venue at London's Dominion Theatre.

As producer, it's the user's call to make production and creative decisions within the show's budget. It's down to the player to set ticket prices, sell merchandise and co-ordinate their marketing and once they've pulled in their audience they'll have to make sure they're gonna rock the show by selecting the right cast, staging equipment and props.

"We Will Rock You - The Game" has been created by digital communications agency Outside Line to be used as a promotional tool for the stage show and to connect with a broader range of theatregoers. Outside Line also run www.queenonline.com as well as ongoing digital initiatives for the QUEEN "brand."

The game will free and available worldwide to download at the iTunes App Store in September 2009.

Since opening in the West End in May 2002, "We Will Rock You" has become a theatrical phenomenon. The London Dominion Theatre production has remained consistently one of London's most popular shows among theatre-goers. Last year, 2008, it achieved the distinction of scoring the year's biggest week in the West End in terms of paid admissions.

The show now rates as the 9th longest running show in London theatre history, sharing the top 10 with such theatre landmarks as "The Mousetrap", "Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera".

In addition to the London production, "We Will Rock You" has been produced in 12 countries around the world, and earlier this year took to the road in the U.K. with a highly successful touring version which in the coming week moves from a sell-out Birmingham season to play Bristol and Edinburgh.

The iPhone game is a natural extension to the producers' Schools Will Rock You initiative launched in 2006. Originating from show creators Ben Elton, Brian May and Roger Taylor and the producers of the original West End show, in a theatre "first," Schools Will Rock You was set up to encourage the fostering of musical and drama performance in schools by making available licenses to schools to stage their own production of the hit show.

Under the program, Schools Will Rock You was geared to provide the production tools, expertise, information, and online support to schools and societies to help them create their own production of the show. To date, more than 500 schools throughout the U.K. have participated.

The original producers of "We Will Rock You" are Phil McIntyre Entertainment, Queen Theatrical Productions and Robert de Niro's Tribeca Productions.

Now, with the iPhone game, anyone can be a producer of their own version of the show that continues to make a big noise across the globe.

"We Will Rock You" continues to rock London's Dominion Theatre booking through to 2010.

The U.K. touring production opens at Bristol Hippodrome September 16. It reaches Edinburgh Playhouse November 3.