I thought it was great! Ollie did it beautifully tonight as well.Muppet wrote: The shadow dance is a relatively new addition to the show. Did you like it? I do.
January 2010 Reviews - London
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FromRussia
- Audience Member
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:45 pm
- Location: Kaluga, Russia
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Tuesday 5th January 2010
WOW! WOW! WOW! - What a fabulous show this evening. My best show so far!
Great atmosphere in the auditorium with a very receptive audience - lots of additional applause, shouts of praise, woo's etc. A great appreciation for the performers with numerous standing ovations.
Every single member of the team gave (in my view) 150% tonight. Performances were crisp and articulate, singing was gutsy and gusto.
Have to single a few out though:
Ollie (Billy) - you were absolutely perfect in the role. A delight to watch and listen to - you provided for me for the first time, a pure unbroken unmanipulated clean singing tone which was angelic. Your acting was inspired with facial expressions to match every single piece of dialoguegreat emotional sequences with real tears, - you really convinced me that you believed you were indeed Billy Elliot. And your dancing - well that was something else. I don't think we have another Billy at the moment who is as proficient as you with regard to the quality of your Ballet and the expert way in which you deliver Street, Tap, Hip-Hop and Acro - energetic in delivery and perfection in performance - Well done Olly, muist ensure that i see you again soon.
Connor (Michael) - Hilariously funny - cheeky little lad who plays the role for laughs. A great double act with Billy and some very tender moments which are carried out with great sensitivity.
Francesca (Debbie) Gutsy and rustic - she will give some poor fella a run for his money in her adult years.
Joe caffrey (Dad) outstanding performance as usual - with great extremes within teh character delivered perfectly. Love the 'deep into the ground' song which you deliver with great sorrow - there can't be many dry eyes in the house!
Ann Emery - absolutely love you as Grandma- there will never be anyone else that can fulfil this role as much as you do - particularly like the bit in the Finale were you eventually sit down on the chairand give us a bit of riskay humour - only you could get away with it.
Music- pure perfection - sound levels well balanced with voices and instruments in harmony with each other and a great performance by the Conductor who is as much a part of the action as the characters on stage.
Altogether a truly fantastic evening.
looking forward to tomorrows performance.
Mark for today 150/100 Great - well done everyone
WOW! WOW! WOW! - What a fabulous show this evening. My best show so far!
Great atmosphere in the auditorium with a very receptive audience - lots of additional applause, shouts of praise, woo's etc. A great appreciation for the performers with numerous standing ovations.
Every single member of the team gave (in my view) 150% tonight. Performances were crisp and articulate, singing was gutsy and gusto.
Have to single a few out though:
Ollie (Billy) - you were absolutely perfect in the role. A delight to watch and listen to - you provided for me for the first time, a pure unbroken unmanipulated clean singing tone which was angelic. Your acting was inspired with facial expressions to match every single piece of dialoguegreat emotional sequences with real tears, - you really convinced me that you believed you were indeed Billy Elliot. And your dancing - well that was something else. I don't think we have another Billy at the moment who is as proficient as you with regard to the quality of your Ballet and the expert way in which you deliver Street, Tap, Hip-Hop and Acro - energetic in delivery and perfection in performance - Well done Olly, muist ensure that i see you again soon.
Connor (Michael) - Hilariously funny - cheeky little lad who plays the role for laughs. A great double act with Billy and some very tender moments which are carried out with great sensitivity.
Francesca (Debbie) Gutsy and rustic - she will give some poor fella a run for his money in her adult years.
Joe caffrey (Dad) outstanding performance as usual - with great extremes within teh character delivered perfectly. Love the 'deep into the ground' song which you deliver with great sorrow - there can't be many dry eyes in the house!
Ann Emery - absolutely love you as Grandma- there will never be anyone else that can fulfil this role as much as you do - particularly like the bit in the Finale were you eventually sit down on the chairand give us a bit of riskay humour - only you could get away with it.
Music- pure perfection - sound levels well balanced with voices and instruments in harmony with each other and a great performance by the Conductor who is as much a part of the action as the characters on stage.
Altogether a truly fantastic evening.
looking forward to tomorrows performance.
Mark for today 150/100 Great - well done everyone
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
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FromRussia
- Audience Member
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:45 pm
- Location: Kaluga, Russia
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
I completely agree with burtond. The show was out of this world. I saw Ollie for the first time - Oh, my! I feel at a loss for words. Great dancing, singing and acting!
By the way, Posh Dad was different today (Sorry, don't know the name of the actor). Just a short scene but what a great performance too! In my opinion that is what's fantastic about Billy Elliott! Every single scene ia a gem.
Going tomorrow again. Just can't resist it. Like my fellow forum member said today in the interval, I'd probably go broke if I didn't have to leave for Russia on Friday.
By the way, Posh Dad was different today (Sorry, don't know the name of the actor). Just a short scene but what a great performance too! In my opinion that is what's fantastic about Billy Elliott! Every single scene ia a gem.
Going tomorrow again. Just can't resist it. Like my fellow forum member said today in the interval, I'd probably go broke if I didn't have to leave for Russia on Friday.
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Yes, I'm always pleasantly surprised when I'm at the London show and see David walk out on stage. I've enjoyed him every time I've seen him.pinknick103 wrote:Alternate Dads name is David Bardsley. He too is fab.
I was looking back at some of my old programs and noticed his name for the first time in the program from when I was there in early June, 2006. Three and a half years is quite a long time to be an alternate. Makes you wonder if he's working just about the right amount of time to suit him, or if he's stuck around this long hoping to inherit the full-time job as Dad at some point. Anyway, he's very good and certainly a worthy heir to the role if it ends up being given to him sometime in the future.
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Yes, its the first time I've seen an alternative Posh Dad - the usual one is such a natural and performs the role brilliantly - love the City Black Pinstripe suit - it always looks as though it is straight from the Tailors shop!. Last nights alternative Dad played the role slightly differently but equally effective - same wig but different browny-grey pinstripe - not quite as pristine! but a highly effective performance.FromRussia wrote: By the way, Posh Dad was different today (Sorry, don't know the name of the actor). Just a short scene but what a great performance too! In my opinion that is what's fantastic about Billy Elliott! Every single scene ia a gem.
Don't you just feel sorry for the posh lad whose head gets battered against the Safety Curtain each evening? You're such a bully Billy!
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Hmmm, unfortunately I have not had the privilege of seeing this Ollie yet. However, on that glowing review, one certainly hopes I will someday!burtond wrote:Tuesday 5th January 2010
WOW! WOW! WOW! - What a fabulous show this evening. My best show so far!
Ollie (Billy) - you were absolutely perfect in the role. A delight to watch and listen to - you provided for me for the first time, a pure unbroken unmanipulated clean singing tone which was angelic. Your acting was inspired with facial expressions to match every single piece of dialoguegreat emotional sequences with real tears, - you really convinced me that you believed you were indeed Billy Elliot. And your dancing - well that was something else.
Mark for today 150/100 Great - well done everyone
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Hi Muppet,
I feel for you that you have not experienced Ollie Gardner. To be fair, until last night, I had only seen Ollie once myself and, if memory serves me correctly, although I enjoyed his performance, it wasn't memorable - on reflection, I will have seen Ollie the first time in my early days of seeing BETM - and in those days it was all FOX, FOX, FOX - no other Billy would have been able to compete. However, I've seen many more shows now and am 'growing-up' into a big Billy! who can look beyond a favourite Billy. Last night, Ollie was truly memorable - he has definately matured into the role. I can find no words of constructive critisism for Ollie last night - simply perfection - of course, the perfect Ollie was supported by a tremendous cast and musicians too which helped to may the show so memorable.
I feel for you that you have not experienced Ollie Gardner. To be fair, until last night, I had only seen Ollie once myself and, if memory serves me correctly, although I enjoyed his performance, it wasn't memorable - on reflection, I will have seen Ollie the first time in my early days of seeing BETM - and in those days it was all FOX, FOX, FOX - no other Billy would have been able to compete. However, I've seen many more shows now and am 'growing-up' into a big Billy! who can look beyond a favourite Billy. Last night, Ollie was truly memorable - he has definately matured into the role. I can find no words of constructive critisism for Ollie last night - simply perfection - of course, the perfect Ollie was supported by a tremendous cast and musicians too which helped to may the show so memorable.
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
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FromRussia
- Audience Member
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:45 pm
- Location: Kaluga, Russia
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Wednesday, 6th January
Yet another wonderful show!
This time Billy was played by Fox who was as confident and professional as ever. It was really interesting to watch his communication with the rest of the actors particularly with Mrs Wilkinson (played brilliantly by Joanna Riding) and Michael (played by George Maycock). One could see that the actors were on the same wavelength, so to speak. In the winter scene George had a difficult time not to burst out laughing. I mean this scene and the one with the dressing up were extremely funny and some members of the audience just couldn’t stop giggling all the way.
In “Solidarity” an unusual thing happened. Mr. Braithwaite (played as usual by Sean Kingsley) suddenly became part of the ensemble of miners. The cast were obviously one person short as when Billy’s Dad came to see Mrs Wilkinson in the second act and rang the doorbell, it was her and not her husband who opened the door (with a glass of scotch (?) and a cigarette). Joe Caffrey gave another brilliant performance as Billy’s dad. His emotions in “Deep Into the Ground”, the way he acts when meeting a ballet dancer during Billy’s audition or the way he talks to the examiners are unforgettable.
Fox’s version of “Electricity” once again made the audience ecstatic. My mind boggles at how powerful and graceful at the same time his dancing is.
The only problem tonight, which is worth mentioning, was that in the first half of the show it so happened that the first lines of the performers could often not be heard. There must have been some problems with the sound engineering. This spoiled the overall impression just a little. Still the fantastic performance by all the cast and the musicians as well as the friendly and supportive audience easily made up for that fact.
I would like to thank all the people who are involved in making this outstanding show.
Yet another wonderful show!
This time Billy was played by Fox who was as confident and professional as ever. It was really interesting to watch his communication with the rest of the actors particularly with Mrs Wilkinson (played brilliantly by Joanna Riding) and Michael (played by George Maycock). One could see that the actors were on the same wavelength, so to speak. In the winter scene George had a difficult time not to burst out laughing. I mean this scene and the one with the dressing up were extremely funny and some members of the audience just couldn’t stop giggling all the way.
In “Solidarity” an unusual thing happened. Mr. Braithwaite (played as usual by Sean Kingsley) suddenly became part of the ensemble of miners. The cast were obviously one person short as when Billy’s Dad came to see Mrs Wilkinson in the second act and rang the doorbell, it was her and not her husband who opened the door (with a glass of scotch (?) and a cigarette). Joe Caffrey gave another brilliant performance as Billy’s dad. His emotions in “Deep Into the Ground”, the way he acts when meeting a ballet dancer during Billy’s audition or the way he talks to the examiners are unforgettable.
Fox’s version of “Electricity” once again made the audience ecstatic. My mind boggles at how powerful and graceful at the same time his dancing is.
The only problem tonight, which is worth mentioning, was that in the first half of the show it so happened that the first lines of the performers could often not be heard. There must have been some problems with the sound engineering. This spoiled the overall impression just a little. Still the fantastic performance by all the cast and the musicians as well as the friendly and supportive audience easily made up for that fact.
I would like to thank all the people who are involved in making this outstanding show.
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Hi FromRussia,
Totally agree with your review.
Would like to remind folk of the role the SWINGS play on stage. Without these flexible and versatile actors/actresses, shows could easily fall apart when there are planned or unplanned absences in the cast. The SWINGS this evening had to work especially hard. Oh and well done Mr Braithwaite for being in two places at once during Solidarity - most amusing.
Regarding the sound engineering - this is really unforgivable. Many important lines were lost in the first act - don't understand why this happens, surely they have a script in the sound booth - its not as if there is any improvisation going on. Please get your act together for tomorrow (sorry for being blunt - but it frustrated the hell out of me and I was one of the lucky ones sat at the front who could hear all the lines due to my close proximity to the cast)
Totally agree with your review.
Would like to remind folk of the role the SWINGS play on stage. Without these flexible and versatile actors/actresses, shows could easily fall apart when there are planned or unplanned absences in the cast. The SWINGS this evening had to work especially hard. Oh and well done Mr Braithwaite for being in two places at once during Solidarity - most amusing.
Regarding the sound engineering - this is really unforgivable. Many important lines were lost in the first act - don't understand why this happens, surely they have a script in the sound booth - its not as if there is any improvisation going on. Please get your act together for tomorrow (sorry for being blunt - but it frustrated the hell out of me and I was one of the lucky ones sat at the front who could hear all the lines due to my close proximity to the cast)
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
Re: January 2010 Reviews - London
Ahhh yes, I remember those days well, when I didn't think anyone could possibly match a certain 'yellow' Billy, however a 'pale blue' Billy came along and challenged 'yellow' Billy's supremacy and Muppet was heard discussing how 'yellow' Billy had met his equal in 'pale blue' Billy!burtond wrote:Hi Muppet,
and in those days it was all FOX, FOX, FOX - no other Billy would have been able to compete. However, I've seen many more shows now and am 'growing-up' into a big Billy! who can look beyond a favourite Billy.
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