February Reviews Malmö

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thm
Miner
Posts: 451
Joined: Tue May 12, 2009 12:12 pm
Location: Copenhagen area

Re: February Reviews Malmö

Post by thm »

I've seen the show a second time on wednesday 17 Feb
Billy : Jacob Hermansson
Michael : Uno Elger
Debbie : Isabella Maga
SB : Oliver Palm
TB : Casper Maga
PB: André Persson Gintner
Dad : Erik Gullbransson (George)
George : Johan Wikström (Big Davey)
Big Davey : Joel Zerpe (Ensemble)
Ensemble : Miles Hoare (Swing)
Older Billy : Paul James Rooney

It was interesting to see another Dad tonight:
Erik, decidedly younger than Lars, played the role of Dad very convicing, bitter-funny in the scene where he finds Billy taking ballet lessons and also with a lot of humor especially in the RBS scene.
Now again I learned a little more swedish: trångsynt = bigoted. :idea:

Jacob and Uno, decidedly smaller than Grim and David, were owning the stage like old pros.
Strong acting from both. Sprightly, frolicsome in Express. Excellent comic timing by Uno. Jacob has a strong sonorous voice with a soft smoky layer on it.
Again Born to Boogie is where all three, Billy, Mr.B. and Mr.W. show that they've got it.

Grandma's Song: Billy and Grandma aren't alone at home. The scene starts with Tony sliding a sofa with sleeping Dad to the rear scenery wall and walks over to the upstairs living room. Just like decoration. Dad doesn't move at all through the whole number nor would he leave the scene walking off on his own feet at the end of this number. 8-) :lol:

I like the V- formation sequences in Angry Dance where Billy is leading the police / miners. Nice bit in the choreography!

Once we were Kings: Grandma sits upstairs in a spotlight combing her hair like the princess in the tower in some other fairy tale waiting for the hero to rescue her. ;)


Billy123 found this article already nearly 4 month ago:
http://vlt.se/kulturnoje/ttkultur/1.323 ... t-tar-form
The musical will be played out in a single place that gathers all the scenes; a gymnasium with two floors and an elevator that takes miners down below the earth. A sort of Roy Andersson aesthetic that stands for the realistic elements. The Swedish version gives more space to the dreamy sequences where music, dance and song breaks the grey everyday life through a rear wall.
Now I get it why the scenery is so neutral, non-authentic (apart from the hidious wallpaper inside the rooms on the right side)! Apparently it's meant to spread even more dullness than the lovely, authentic coloured uglyness of brickwalls and worn out furniture.
With the orchestra at the back and with the extra dancers between that and the scene, there's suddenly such a depth before the audience's eyes that contrasts the 'normal' scenes.


Gud bevare Maggie Thatcher
God jul och gott nytt år
Vi ska måla hela julen röd
Gud bevare M.T.
vi vill fira dig idag
det är én dag närmare din död

God forbid! M.T.
Good(merry) Xmas and good(happy) new year
We'll paint the whole Christmas red
God forbid! M.T.
We will celebrate/honor you today
It's one day closer to your death

I wonder if to paint Christmas red is an idom or just a random line to match the rhyme?

Btw. all the lyrics of all songs match perfectly the music and do at no point disturb the rhythm nor seem pressed into it. Again a shame they don't have the rights to make a recording!
kremlan
Audience Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jan 31, 2016 6:56 pm

Re: February Reviews Malmö

Post by kremlan »

Better late then never: here comes my review from the show on the 18th february in Malmö.
I had seen the show before: the English one on dvd and the Dutch show in Scheveningen.
Don´t read this if you don´t want any spoilers!

Here are my pictures from the show, with permission from the boys!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kremlan1/ ... 4814076381

The parts where played by:
Sandra Wilkinson: Åsa Fång
Jackie Elliot: Erik Gullbransson
Tony Elliot: Rasmus Mononen
Mormor/Grandma: Marianne Mörck
Debbie: Isabelle Maga
Billy: Oliver Lohk
Michael: David Fridholm

I read here before that the orchestra was very good. Before the show, I was looking for the orchestra but couldn´t see it. I was afraid that there wasn´t any live music (some shows in the Netherlands they play a tape!). But when the show had started, I saw that they where on stage! I found that very magical. Some scenes you saw them, some you saw them through smoke or glas and some you didn´t see them. They where very good.

I sat on the second row, which meant I could see all the expressions very well. Also the size of the theatre made it very cosy and a more personal feeling than the bigger theatres. Maybe it was because of this that the audience for me felt more present than at the Dutch show. More laughing, more reactions, more applaus (even in the middle of scenes, for example for jokes) Small boy was very popular, he got many laughs and applaus.

Knowing the Jackie Elliot in the movie, the English show and the Dutch show, I was a bit dissapointed in the Swedish one. And the same for Tony. The anger, the fear, the sorrow, it just wasn´t that strong.

Mrs Wilkinson and the balletgirls where very good, and I had the feeling that they in theyre first scene went of stage and changed clothes whitin seconds! Very fast! The part of Debbie wasn´t as "bitchy" as the ones I´ve seen, but she was still very good.
Mr Braithwate was also very different, both his personality and his looks. He was more like an alcoholic.

Oliver as Billy was amazing. You could really see his pain, strugle, so vulnerable, his acting was very believeble, very real. Also his dancing and singing where great.

David as Michael was so great. Extremelly funny. He played a very funny boy with great self-confidence. But when he shows Billy that he likes him and kisses him, he is vulnerable. Very good acting. All the Michaels have glasses in the show, it wasn´t like that in the Netherlands, and not in England either I think?

The ensemble was very good also.
Billy´s mother was great, great voice. I liked the little "high five" she and Billy did each time.

I saw that someone else here wrote about the Angry Dance, that it was hard to get the angry vibe because Billy doesn´t tap. But I really got that vibe, maybe it was because i sat on row 2 and could see the facial expressions. Oliver really showed his anger with both his face and body language.

All the spoken and vocals where texted on a little screen. For me with a small hearing loss, that was great. That would have been great to have had in the Netherlands as well, there it was hard to hear sometimes, partly because of the imaginary, new accent they came up with.

I spoke to both Oliver and David after the show and also with Grim, who should have played that evening but was a bit ill. Very nice boys!
Great show, I really recommend it!
Dancer
Ballet Girl
Posts: 251
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 3:02 pm

Re: February Reviews Malmö

Post by Dancer »

Thanks very much for your review, kremlan, and for the link to the photos! I'm glad you were able to meet the young cast after the show :D .
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