March Reviews Malmö

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Real Geordie
Ballet Girl
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Joined: Mon Nov 09, 2015 8:02 pm
Location: England

March Reviews Malmö

Post by Real Geordie »

Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11th,12th & 13th March

Previously I had seen only the VPT and Dutch versions of the show (the latter being out of the same stable and about 90% the same), so this was my first experience “off piste”, with a completely different interpretation. If Macbeth can be done in the style of Hip Hop then why not break the mould and create a new variation of Billy Elliot ? The central storyline remains unchanged, all of the scenes are there and the scene sequence is unaltered. The musical score is unchanged. This was however quite a different experience with a different feel to it, and every scene was altered in some way, sometimes significantly. Earlier reviews have detailed changes to various scenes, so I will not go over ground already covered. Instead I will make a few personal comments on some of the things I liked about the performances, and also what I thought did not go so well.

Firstly, what I liked about the cast performances. I thought grandma (Marianne Mörck) was generally involved in more scenes throughout. She was clearly losing her marbles, shambling around the stage, but there was a more open affection shown by her towards Billy. In fact, the only words spoken in English in this production were “I love you Billy” by grandma. In Grandma’s song she dances with Billy, and clearly he is important to her, and her favourite. She herself was a firm favourite of the audience every night, and timed her lines perfectly, getting lots of loud laughter.

Billy (Oliver Lohk) and Michael (Carl Sjögren) are paired together for the whole run - as are the other Billy/Michael combinations. Oliver had no, or very little, dance experience beforehand I believe. He however danced well, to the level required by this production. He has a good singing voice, and I think his strongest point is his ability as an actor. When the Billy bag reveals the Rubik's Cube, Star Trek annual (in this case), tin of baked beans and packet of soup, it is Mrs W doing the unloading. This allows Billy to walk to the front of stage and face the audience, rather than being side on, when the letter is read out. This is where his acting ability comes in - and when the hankies come out. Similarly at the end of the show, after he has said his goodbye to Michael, and before he walks to the rear and becomes enveloped in smoke, he walks to the front of the stage and stands for a good while just looking around the audience, his face showing a range of emotions, close to tears. He is of course not looking at the audience, but saying a silent goodbye to the village of Easington, and the life he has lived to that time. Goodbye to Grandma and the rest of his family and friends. What lies ahead ? I think this was a great addition and very poignant. Incidentally, he delivers the “William Elliot Is Queer/Esquire” line - but this received no response from the audience on each of the three performances. I suspect they have no idea what it’s all about ! All in all a good all round performer, and a very believable Billy.

Michael (Carl Sjögren) is an accomplished dancer, a pupil at the Swedish Royal Ballet School. In the promotional videos, and in TV interviews leading up to the show he struck me as a very confident and extrovert character with a sense of mischief and humour. He brings these attributes to his portrayal of Michael. This is a Michael on a mission. He explodes onto the stage and gives it all he has got, flirting outrageously with Billy. Not for him the hesitant, tentative peck on the cheek. This lad knows what he wants and gives Billy a corker of a kiss, much to the horror of Billy, and some gasps from the audience. Loud applause and cheering when Michael finishes his scenes.

Another strong performance was by Mrs. W (Åsa Fång), who I thought hit the mark in her complex relationship with Billy. Tony (Rasmus Mononen) was suitably fired up in the confrontational scenes, though his skinhead attire was I think a wardrobe mistake. I did have some reservations about Dad (Lars Väringer). He is probably the most physically imposing person on stage, a very big man, and literally is head and shoulders above Tony (imagine how small Billy seems compared to him). However, I never recognised the anger and frustration seething inside him, and he sometimes seemed to play scenes with too light a touch. Probably this is just my take on it, and maybe a language issue. As for Mr Braithwaite (Michael Jansson) - what was that all about ? He was way beyond being merely eccentric and had moved into the seriously weird category.

Angry Dance - OK, so no tap, but an interesting variation. This is one dance in the VPT version where I admire the raw energy of whichever Billy is performing, but it seems stop/start at times, not free flowing. This Malmo version was fine by me.

The finale. This is close to the original version including tap. I think the finale is essential as an antidote to the thought of the desperation of those Billy is leaving behind. The Swedish audience I think were unaware of what was about to hit them. On each night Åsa Fång had to silence the standing ovation and instruct the audience to sit. Most of them probably had assumed the show was over at that point. I liked the way that first Billy, then Michael, then Debbie, situated at the front of stage, were illuminated by a spotlight each in turn, as they did a short tap routine. This is a recognition to Michael and Debbie which they do not get normally. At the end of the finale, again a standing ovation.

I must mention the orchestra. A rich, deep, quality sound, but at the appropriate decibel level. No attempt to say “we are over here, look at us, aren’t we good”.

So - what did I think did not go so well ? The stage is large and projects out into the audience in a semi-circular fashion, and at a very low level. This means that at times you can be eyeball to eyeball when anyone sits or lies down on the stage. All good. All of the real action takes place at front of stage, which is empty other than for chairs and tables which are either moved to the side of the stage or removed from the stage by whoever happens to be in the scene. A minimalist approach which is fine by me. It reminded me of when there was a complete equipment failure at VPT a few weeks ago, and there was simply a bare wide expanse of stage. You use your imagination. At the very rear of what is a very deep stage sat the orchestra. In between these two is sandwiched “the scenery”. Two simple boxes on either side, top right Billy’s bedroom, bottom right where the stairs come down. Over on the left, two non-specific rooms. There is a gap between the two which sometimes is open, sometimes closed, and which allows the “fantasy” scenes to be populated. The only problem for me was that constantly throughout each scene you would suddenly catch out of the corner of your eye someone in one (or all) of these rooms doing - well, often nothing. People would appear sitting under hairdryers, dead mum would appear and disappear at random, people would walk around, or be exercising on a punch bag or static bike etc. etc. Was this meant to be the village going about its everyday business ? I found it distracting. I would be focused on a particular scene then there would be movement somewhere else, which made me turn away to see what was going on - nothing as it happens. Like a fly buzzing in your ear. What was it meant to achieve ? Billy’s bedroom was not a necessity - it did not feature in Angry Dance. I would much have preferred a blank canvas onto which there could be different appropriate projections, in keeping with the minimalist approach. I fear I may have become a grouch !

And HURRAH ! We had an equipment failure on Sunday. It must be written into the licence agreement now that these are obligatory. The projection showing “Royal Ballet School, London” instead displayed a series of error messages. Quickly deleted.

In summary - every night I was there was a full house, with lots of laughter and the occasional tear, along with standing ovations. Both audience and cast enjoyed themselves. What more can you ask ?
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