Curve Leicester - UK - 13th July – 20th August 2022

[oi_dancingboy]

I have a ticket for Thursday this week so will give a full report back on my thoughts by the weekend.

The only other time I've seen the show was in London so I really have no idea what a local performance will be like. I have deliberately been avoiding any photos, clips or reviews so it will be a total surprise to me.

[oi_dancingboy]

Just got home from watching the matinee performance at Leicester.

For info - My actors were:
Billy - Jaden Shentall-Lee
Michaael - Prem Masani
Debbie - Pearl Ball
Ballet girls and Smallboy and Tall boy were from Team Donnini
Adult cast were as normal apart from Posh dad being played by the cover, Christopher Wright.

So the show then....I'm not a professional reviewer so will just ramble......

I was really impressed. The show is exceptionally well cast, every person is totally believable in their role and gives a enthusiastic and energetic performance. In particular Sally Ann Triplett and Joe Caffrey (yes, that Joe Caffrey) really stood out to me as Mrs Wilkinson and Dad. The turbulent relationship between Billy and his Dad was really well portrayed by both father and son. Jaden was excellent as Billy. He really shone whenever he was on stage. I thought his singing was very good, his accent - well that was acceptable. But everyone struggles with that. His dancing was dynamic and full of energy. Songs like Born to boogie really suited him best, the ballet stuff seemed not to be his area of expertise although he was able to still do the full range of basic moves including all the pirouettes. Considering the little time they had to put it together and rehearse we knew we weren't going to get someone leaping fully formed from the brow of Zeus able to do everything, so what he did do he did very well. The other child stars were also very good. Debbie, I think may have been suffering a little from a sore throat or possibly a badly wired mic but she was very good at the role. The role itself is lacking substance really, and always has been. I wish they could have done more with Debbie. Prem did a super job as Michael. He camped it up with out being too over the top. Some tiny little things were missing but he still got all the big laughs he deserved and his acting and singing were top notch. They didn't quite do the full dance routine for Expressing yourself but he did the first part superbly.

There was a live orchestra. I wasn't sure there was going to be. So that was good.

The set is quite different to the original. It looks very industrial to reflect the coal mines. This works well for those scenes but less so for the inside scenes, especially the miners welfare hall which is never really portrayed very well at all. A new addition to the staging was some big yellow wire fences, which could be moved about the stage to represent different things, the walls of the wellfare hall or the picket lines etc. Its hard to describe but I found this video with a model which explains it well. https://youtu.be/wdiTl_Bb24Y?t=1021 They are used effectively during angry dance. Instead of the police coming on with riot shields the fences move closer and closer to Billy, fencing him in so he is metaphorically and literally trapped.

Billys house was on two levels that could be lit when it was needed or not. I can't remember if it moved. I think it was static. What was a bit weird though, the toilets for the ballet lessons bit were on a third level above Billy house. Which just seemed odd to me.

So, yes the staging was done differently but the script was pretty much word for word as original and so was all the music with two big exceptions: Firstly, angry dance used different music although it kept parts of the original. Perhaps you could call it a re-arrangement. But the big change was Dream Ballet - no Swan Lake. Don't know what they were thinking there. I can only assume it was to cover the fact none of the Billys (and possibly older Billy too) could do enough Ballet to do the music justice. But what replaced it was a completely forgettable guitar driven tune which has some elements of other bits of the score mixed into it. The whole dream ballet scene really didn't work for me. The first timers in the audience must have wondered what the hell was going on. Looking at it from the point of view of someone who had never seen the show before they would think this - So Billy is with Michael. Then Michael leaves and some loud music starts playing and all the lights come on and there's some guy on stage with Billy. Who's that? Why are they dancing together? Hang on, now Dead Mam has turned up, now she's dancing with them. Now theres some miners dancing arcross the stage - Is this a dream? Whats going on? Now there's Billys Dad - Oh all the others have gone and Billys dad is telling him to go home. God I'm so confused.

Some other smaller changes to note -
There was no newsreel at the beginning. The show just went straight in with Stars look down.*
Grandmas song didn't have any choreography in it. It was just her in the middle of the stage singing on her own. It suffered because if it. (Grandma was excellent though)
No tap dance in Expressing. The dancing dresses were replaced by the other children dancing and pretend playing instruments. It kinda worked.
No chairs.
No mini stand up routine by George before Merry Christmas. I missed that.
No Big Thatcher puppet but that's to be expected. Some of the cast wore Thatcher masks instead.
The audition scene is slightly different. Billy gets upset and clobbers the posh boy because he doesn't get to do the dance he's prepared, rather than the tape getting chewed up.
Finale was pretty short - I would have liked it to be longer.

I will give it 8 out of 10. Could have been a 9 if they hadn't buggered about with dream ballet.

*If you watch the whole video I linked from the beginning the guy mentions the film that tells the background, so they were obviously planning to put it in but it never made the final show.

[Bluematrix1955]

Good detailed review above, I will post mine over the next 24hrs having seen 2 of the shows at the Curve, just need to get my writing head on!

[Bluematrix1955]

My review (on behalf of myself and she who must be obeyed) , it is late but I did only join these excellent forums at the weekend

Review 1 - Show Aug 6th

Billy - Samuel Newby
Michael - Lucas Haywood

Firstly, before I go into the show itself I must stress that the only stage show of this musical I had seen before (several times) was the London film release of Billy Elliot with Elliot Hanna (Billy) and Zach Atkinson (Michael) with of course the wonderful Liam Mower. This got me hooked to this show completely, therefore, when it was announced that Curve was going to launch Billy Elliot we decided we just had to see it. We really didn't know what to expect but what we got was just a complete emotional rollercoaster

Onto the show itself, it would be an understatement to say the young talent on display on Aug 6th was simply outstanding, Samuel played Billy brilliantly with accent and all ably supported by Lucas Haywood who more than "Expressed Himself" in one of the best scenes in the show coming together with Samuel hilariously. Solidarity was done with total flair with the movement on the huge stage awe inspiring with scenery movements in pertectual motion constantly which intertwined two event happening at once, it was simply brilliantly achieved.

It was hard to hold the tears back as Billy went through "the Letter" scene with Mrs Wilkinson and his "dead" Mom but Samuel handled it superbly. The show seemed to fly and within no time we were at the scene I was in particular waiting for, if only to see how Samuel handled the highly emotional "Electricity" scene, we were not disappointed and the Mrs went through about 4 Kleenex wiping away the mascara by the time he had reached the climax of the song. have to say the whole show was a total emotional rollercoaster, in a nice way. It was funny, sad but the execution from start to finish was 1st class. LOVED the funny scene when Dad, Grandma and Tony sat waiting for Billy to open his envelope from the Audition in London
<Billy> William Elliot ISqueer (In the wonderful North east accent)
<Dad> E S Q U I R E!!!

Yes, so good, we actually booked to see it again when we got back to the hotel, but I will do that review shortly which consist 2 debutants in lead roles .. Leo and Bobby

Aug 16th - Review 2

Billy - Leo Hollingsworth
Michael - Bobby Donald

On our 2nd visit we had the pleasure of Leo and Bobby as Billy & Michael respectively

The stand out feature about this pairing is that both these boys were making their debuts in this musical at the Curve in leading roles and we were extremely impressed with them both. It is hard to separate Leo from Samuel between the 2 shows only to say that maybe Samuel was slightly ahead in the rendition of Electricity, having said that, this is not a critical view as it is one the highlights of the show and a challenge to do, both boys were excellent but I thought the body movements from Samuel were a little more lively.

Again, the interaction through all the scenes was excellent, Leo's singing of "the Letter" was emotional to say the least. Bobby's Michael more than equaled Lucas's performance and the scene leading into the Dream sequence was both moving and funny.

Now, I HAVE to comment on the magnificent performances through both shows of Sally-Ann-Triplett and it is clear by her professionalism and acting why she is so established on the West End and on Broadway, she was THE perfect Mrs Wilkinson. Jessica Daly, Joe Caffrey and Luke Baker ..... take a bow, brilliant performances throughout

We tried to book a 3rd visit, but too late, all the tickets just went like lightening, I would have dearly liked to have seen both Alfie and Jaden in the Billy role but it wasn't to be, but judging from other critics reviews I have read they were both just as sensational as Samuel and Leo

We and many other people have implored the Curve to bring it back maybe in 2023 or at least tour, the issue with a tour is the size of the theatre stage you would need to hold such a huge set which was a total innovation in itself.

People have waiting far too long for BETM to return to the UK stages due to Covid and other issues, now is the time to bring this masterpiece of a British Musical back where it belongs and I encourage every BETM lover to give those directors and theatres out there a BIG push

A total 5***** from us as far as The Curve is concerned, it's going to take some beating!

(Final note - the only part I would have liked to have seen is THE Dream sequence as was staged in London)

[JoshuaRailfan]

Does anyone have any extra theatre posters of Billy Elliot the Musical at the Curve Theatre in Leicester, England? I would really like one! Please let me know! Many Thanks! Thanks! -Joshua

[Real Geordie]

Just a few random and rambling thoughts on this production, some of which I may have posted earlier, but too lazy to look back. I saw the first night and final afternoon performances as well as a number in between, and it was noticeable that there were adjustments and improvements as the days progressed - no doubt following feedback and ideas from cast and director. This process would no doubt have continued if the run had been longer, with the confidence of the youngsters steadily increasing, so I’m sure that even greater heights would have been achieved. It’s easy to forget that the rehearsal period was only three months, with a Covid infection also causing disruption. It is admirable that they all pulled together to overcome these obstacles and provide such a professional and brilliant production. I imagine there were sweaty palms on the first night - were they really ready they must have thought - but the response from the audience answered that question with no doubt.

I saw all four teams of Billy/Michael/Debbie at least twice, and they were all strong on acting ability and also singing. There was a mixture of abilities so far as dancing was concerned, but I understand that it was never the intention to have each Billy follow a strict, rigid and uniform dance routine. Instead they were encouraged to express themselves energetically, possibly around a few core movements, and this they did. Every performance I was at saw the audience react with huge applause after each dancing scene. I suspect that they were applauding each Billy as much for pushing himself to the limit of his own ability, as for the strict performance of the dance. Without exception the adult cast was excellent and believable, and I prefer not to pick out individuals. They were just all very good. The ballet girls and boxing boys added to the noise, colour and general (planned) mayhem in the scenes they were in, and their inclusion added to the scenes overall.

You have to take note of the physical characteristics of Curve itself in this production. The stage is huge, and you were constantly looking around to pick up action taking place outside of your field of vision. I will comment on this size of stage later. The lighting was also spectacular, due in part to the modern lighting rigs available. The music and sound control - again outstanding.

I could go on and on, but suffice to say that when I left the hotel and walked towards Curve on first night, I half expected to make the return journey disappointed. How could anyone expect to improve on or even match the original ? Fortunately, I kept an open mind and loved this new interpretation. The more times I saw it, the more I liked it. As I have said before, it is not superior, it is not inferior, it is different. In the 400 years since Billy Shakespeare died there have been countless interpretations of his plays - modern dress, modern language, vastly changing scenery, rap, crap and on and on. Someone needed the guts to take on a classic like Billy, and fortune favours the brave.

So, what next - I have no idea ! The Curve version cannot easily just be transferred to another theatre. The physical scenery at the Curve would struggle to fit into most Victorian era theatres. The three storey construct of kitchen/bedroom/toilet (a full size replica of the pit cage at Easington) would probably need to be laid on its side in most theatres due to its height. Most of the young actors were local to Curve and continued their education at local schools. How would that work on tour ? Is the original version likely to make a comeback ? As I understand it, to put together a production of Billy with a Billy School, long rehearsal times, teaching all sorts of new skills and suchlike is prohibitively expensive. Maybe there is a third way. Some have said that the scaling back of dancing in the Curve production is not to their liking. Well - and this is not to in any way take away from the abilities of each other Billy, more to highlight a positive attribute - Alfie Napolitano was able to weave his considerable gymnastic and ballet skills into his dance sequences. He was as good as I have seen in any Billy production, and the audience responded enthusiastically. There is room for tweaking. Will a third version appear on the scene, blending the best parts from each production ?

[Bluematrix1955]

Great review Real Geordie and I totally agree with all your observations

I really wanted to see Alfie as I had already heard about his dancing skills but sadly it wasn't to be, also Wanted to see Jaden but beggars can't be choosers, Samuel Newby and Leo Hollingsworth didn't disappoint

Be interesting to see if Curve actually bring it back, maybe late 2023? For sure Billy''s Alfie, Samuel and Leo would maybe get away with 2 more years in the role before voice break time. This will probably be Jaden's only chance to play Billy this year as he turns 15 next summer

One thing is for sure, wherever the next Billy Elliot appears in the UK , we will be there!