Clazzimay wrote:It is not just Fox's last night, it is also George's. Both boys will be sorely missed.
No doubt about that. Both will be missed greatly by all here on the forum. George has been an outstanding Michael - many of us, including myself, have seen George from his early days, and fully appreciate every minute of entertainment he has given us.
It will be a very sad night seeing them go. Funny they are both going together - Ive always thought George and Fox are a fab pair. Last time I saw a Billy and Michael leave together was when Shaun and Layton left - what an atmosphere the theatre brought that night. Im sure the 27th march will be the same xxxx
Dean x1, Leon x1, Trent x1, Josh x12, Layton x10, Corey x5, Fox x10, Tom x15, Brad x5,Ollie x7,Tanner x2, Dean CC x 9, Aaron x 2, Rhys x3, Scott x5, Ryan x10, Adam x2, Kaine x5, Harris x3, Harrison x12, Redmond x3, Ali x1
I haven't seen Ann as Grandma for a long time, and although I like the alternative I would like to see her again soon. She hasn't left, has she?
Ann was on as grandma on Fri and Saturday night.You had just missed her.
Caroline(i believe it was her) was also on as Mrs.W. Sat night.
I dont do reviews(not very good with word) so here is just a note.
Well i witnessed 3 fabulous performances this weekend with Fox, Ollie and Tom, all performances were fantastic and it was topped off with Tom as my last Billy of the weekend(icing on the cake for me) .
Managed to see Connor as Michael twice this weekend and he is wonderful, as was George but it was my first time seeing Connor what a treat he is.
Fluer and Francesca were Debbie and did a wonderful job but i still havent seen Emily.
First time seeing Caroline as Mrs.W and she was great, her voice is naturally a little softer than some others but did a great job.Joanna again was Fab she is really hard at times and softens wonderfully towards Billy.Lovely
All i need to do now is catch Dean and Emily and ill be upto date again well theres always next time.
Was funny on saturday night(being a regular) to see Ollie come on as Tall boy i had to have a double take to make sure, the actual tall boy must have been running ate because he was back in time for angry dance.Shame i was looking forward to Ollie being Thomas .
sleepylins wrote: Was funny on saturday night(being a regular) to see Ollie come on as Tall boy i had to have a double take to make sure, the actual tall boy must have been running ate because he was back in time for angry dance.Shame i was looking forward to Ollie being Thomas .
Its great when things like this happen. It also reminds you just how competent the kids are - able to turn their hand to anything and often at a moments notice. The same thing happened to me the first week in January when there was all the terrible snow around. Jake Pratt came on as small boy with the inevitable 'w**ker' levied at George during the boxing scene. Not quite as funny when said by an older boy though!
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
sleepylins wrote: Was funny on saturday night(being a regular) to see Ollie come on as Tall boy i had to have a double take to make sure, the actual tall boy must have been running ate because he was back in time for angry dance.Shame i was looking forward to Ollie being Thomas .
Marky wrote: Glad you enjoyed the show. Like yourself I also took some family members along to the matinee - My sister and 13year old nephew. My sister has always thought me a little strange that I should want to see the same show so many times over a four year period - now she understands! They both loved the show too. I think it's always a special occasion when you sit with someone you know who is seeing the show for the first time - we've all been there an know what it's like. The thing is, I've never known anyone to leave the theater not thinking that they will see it again very soon.
The last time I took my mother with me. Unfortunately she does not speak English, so I had her see the movie first, that helped her. We have seen Ollie as Billy and she also thought he was amazing (ok, who is this young man on my avatar? ).
I have the chance to take my best friend to Fox last show. Just to be sure: it is the evening performance, right? I also have a ticket for the matinee show, but she does not want to join me. (She doesn't know yet). So I probably won't go either. Anybody interested in B21 stalls on March 27th matinee?
After the show my nephew said that he thought Ollie was amazing, then texed his best friend to say that they must get tickets! I mentioned the approaching 5th birthday show and that I had some spare tickets - "We can go! can't we Mum?"...needless to say eBay won't get to see those now. Another couple of Billy addicts!
Ah, this is sweet! I will also make it, but only got tickets in Grand Circle.
Leon 1, Fox 5, Ollie 8.5, Tom 3.5, Dean 11, Rhys 8, Aaron 5, Scott 5, Josh 4, Adam 4, Ryan 4
An extremely cold winters evening littered with snow flourishes together with a long and arduous working day spanning the length of the UK made for a prescription of some magical, musical entertainment in the guise of Billy Elliot and a warm and welcoming Victoria Palace Theatre in the very heart of London. We were not going to be disappointed –Monday syndrome – an excellent, brilliant all round performance. Lively and full of life; energetic and bursting with energy; a musical feast of rich band sounds, rustic articulate unison melody lines and stark episodes of harmony sung with the sort of attitude that Deloris Van Cartier (Sister Mary Clarence – Sister Act) would be immensely proud of. It seems to me that the rest day (Sunday)works absolute wonders for the hard working BETM cast and staff.
Sitting completely at ease and totally relaxed in seat B17 the show commences and I find myself (during the first few scenes) contemplating the situation poor Billy is in. How the devil does he achieve his ambition? – so much is going against him. The guy must have a complete focus on what he aspires to do. Not only are his family unsupportive (initially) – too wrapped up in the strike to appreciate what important things are going on under their noses, but even when he stumbles across the Ballet Class, the girls push him from pillar to post, ridicule him, verbally abuse him and laugh at him. Furthermore, as a Ballet Teacher, Mrs W has the weirdest approach to the introduction and encouragement of new members that I have ever seen. The poor guy must be made of steel . I would have packed it in after the first session. Thank God he didn’t! Mind you, looking at life, it is this sort of bare faced determination in the face of such negativity that sorts the men from the boys or to be equally correct, the ladies from the girls. Many of the successful people I think about have faced this sort of adversity and came through it. Many wouldn’t be there at all had it not been for the considerable negative experiences as they moulded their career.
Do you know? We are blessed with excellent, focussed and immensely talented Billy’s. Everyone of these guys is a gem. Simply mind-blowing and no doubt, each one, in their own way has their own experience of what has been said above in getting to where they are today. I really do admire them all. But yesterday evening, it was Ollie’s turn to wow us in the role of Billy Elliot. Wow us he did. From the beginning of the show to the very end, I watched him like a hawk throughout and he never, ever, reverted to Ollie Gardner; lost his character – he was pure Billy Elliot and he made me believe in him! What a joy it is to sit so close to the front too – it is pure magic to see the facial expressions of all the cast but particularly Ollie’s as his child-like and innocent little face transforms perpetually to reflect the mood of the situation or specific dialogue at that time.
As Billy sang ‘take me up and hold me gently’ (his first melody of the show) I perceived a real clarity to his voice – crystal clear, pure, perfectly in tune and accurately delivered – I knew at this point, that the show would be wonderful and it was.
Although I have only seen Ollie perform a small number of times, each time, he has become stronger. This shy little guy from Bath is now a force to be reckoned with especially with the confidence that he has acquired at BETM together with his talent for acting and especially his wide-ranging dancing abilities. Although he is clearly competent in Tap, Street and Acro, his Ballet sequences are wonderfully artistic and delightful to watch with soft lines, expression and attitude.
Turning to the Ensemble, there was lots of energy, power, guts and tensions in tonights show. I appreciate that we often only wax lyrical about the Child stars but honestly, the show wouldn’t be what it is without you guys and gals. How important a part you do play and yes, we often just take you for granted. I purposely took the opportunity to focus in on individuals during the ensemble numbers in the hope that I could catch one or two of you out of character but I couldn’t. No. Whilst on stage, you take the role and run with it throughout the scene. This has the effect of bringing the show to life for me and I feel that I am there, in the middle of it all. It is real! Great singing throughout, loud, crisp and in your face – Excellent! Shaun Henson, you have a great Tenor voice in which you give 110% - I love to hear you belting out the harmonies – you do it with such commitment and dedication – Thrilling!
Love Jo Riding as Mrs W. Although she can be a hard nosed ‘cow’ at times, she also has wonderful moments of sensitivity and there are some beautifully crafted tender scenes between her and Billy. Again, sitting at the front of the stalls is a good vantage point to see the actors up close and personal. It is a chance to see the emotion on the characters faces as they engross themselves in some of the most moving parts of the show. I do believe that Billy is the son Mrs W never had and for Billy, well of course, she is the nearest female of his dead Mothers age who he can show love towards – and there is a considerable amount of unconditional type love given to Billy by Mrs W especially when she hands him the cassette tape for the audition, buttons him up and hugs him like her own child. On a lighter note here, there was one moment in tonights performance when for a split second, I thought that Mrs W looked like Endora from Bewitched (Agnes Moorehead) – sorry Jo – not flattering!
Expressing yourself – a lively, camp and hilarious adventure for Billy and Michael. Connor (Michael) is a remarkable guy. He is the newest and youngest Michael and I think the most confident. He could have been on stage all his life the way he struts his stuff. In the past few weeks though, I have felt that he focussed on the development of his camp gestures and stances sometimes at the expense of delivering important lines. However, now he has moved on from this without a compromise on either the lines or moves front – line were clear, precisely delivered and perfectly audible and funny; moves were even more over the top than usual. He has a particularly versatile voice which he uses to great effect – his operatic tones provide an amusing contrast to his simple singing voice. There was a further example of the incredible Connor in the scene immediately preceding Dream Ballet. This is where Michael messes about in the tutu. He really does capture the moment with wincing movements across the stage, limp wristed stances and gestures and wonderful well chosen words and phrases - very Larry Grayson (Shut that door!) or for the younger ones, Graham Norton! Even Billy cannot contain himself faced with such a Joker. As he walked off leaving Billy alone in the Hall, there was an immediate burst of sustained applause (which I haven’t witnessed before) which reflected a well delivered and well executed scene.
David Bardsley took the role of Dad tonight. Another great performance from David who, in my view, portrays the role in a more controlled, sensitive and pathetic way. There was great emotion in the confrontation scene with Tony (Craig Gallivan) - the considerable physical pressure that each one imparts on the other is very dramatic and taken alongside the breathtaking emotion delivered in ‘He could be a star’ through broken half-sung / half-spoken voices mixed with real sweat and tears provides for a very moving experience. There was an unusual moment in the scene where Billy has received the letter from the Royal Ballet School. As Dad leaves the stage to go to the ‘Hall’ with the rest of his comrades, he touched Ollie/Billy on the chest/tummy quite tenderly and deliberately – I’ve not noticed this before but it was delightful if not extremely poignant.
I feel for Mr Braithwaite. In Billy he has found a release. It must be such a difficult life for this guy, caught up in a very Alpha Male environment of pitmen when really, he is probably one of the exponents of Modern Man emerging from this sad era. At last he has the vehicle to release his inner most ambitions – performance, dance etc., I could almost envisage Mr B together with Michael in that final closing scene saying a final sad and emotional goodbye to Billy. Sean Kingsley captures this in an imaginative and comical performance.
What a wonderful Dead Mum Samantha Seager is. Her performance is touching, sincere and highly effective. She gets really close to Billy (and I mean very close face to face – literally an inch or two) and her face and voice demonstrate that she means everything she says. Highly charged sequences which always bring a lump to my throat.
Ann Emery as Grandma continues to shine throughout every performance. This lady has been in the show since the very beginning. I marvel at her ability to keep the part fresh and interesting. I believe that she is able to do this through the tiny but subtle changes she instills which make her performance slightly different each time I se it. Last night, there were a lovely variety of vocal tones used during the singing of ‘We’d go dancing’ and a combination of both sung and spoken elements delivered with passion and tenderness in equal measure.
Ballet Girls provided great respite to other highly charged scenes. They are all brilliant girls and each one has their own particular style and mannerisms whilst working within the team. The squeaky screams were particularly strong during the ‘Shine’ scene.
Francesca Mango gets better and better. She is especially flirtatious with Billy and stalks him particularly during the scene when all the girls are learning to not to turn their head with their turning bodies (what is the name for this move???)
During the audition scene when Billy hands the cassette to the Stage Hand, Ollie has a unique reaction to Shaun Henson who portrays the role in a very camp and affected way. This reaction although only a second or two is very funny if you see it – I suppose it is just an acknowledgement of the character but Ollie has mastered it – whatever it is? - I’ve not seen this in any of the other brilliant Billy’s.
Finally, (thank God you’re saying) I must praise Matt Malone as yesterdays MD for the way in which he wraps himself up in the show. Not only is his conducting as powerful, emotional and extravagant as the acting, but it is highly effective in engendering such a positive, energetic and intense response for each member of the cast and the band. I particularly enjoy Matt’s performance during ‘Shine’ – I’ve never seen an MD feel and gesticulate every single note with flying arms, an active upper body, facial expressions and an elaborate mouthing of the words - its just priceless. He is as much a part of the action as the performing girls. And Yes, for the sake of clarity, I think he is brilliant too a real asset to the VP and BETM Team.
Another wonderful evening finished off by a glimpse of the Boys and Girls climbing into the Billy Bus. I appreciate the need for security and all that given todays society but you don’t want to feel guilty for shouting ‘well done guys and well done girls’ from a respectable distance. Sadly, I did. Shame!
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
sleepylins wrote: Was funny on saturday night(being a regular) to see Ollie come on as Tall boy i had to have a double take to make sure, the actual tall boy must have been running ate because he was back in time for angry dance.Shame i was looking forward to Ollie being Thomas .
Its great when things like this happen. It also reminds you just how competent the kids are - able to turn their hand to anything and often at a moments notice. The same thing happened to me the first week in January when there was all the terrible snow around. Jake Pratt came on as small boy with the inevitable 'w**ker' levied at George during the boxing scene. Not quite as funny when said by an older boy though!
Who was tall boy at matinee show ??? I thought ballet girls plus tall boy did both shows on days when there is a matinee ??? I once saw shaun malone as tall boy - kept looking thinking is that him - then he smiled at me, and I knew it was xxx
Dean x1, Leon x1, Trent x1, Josh x12, Layton x10, Corey x5, Fox x10, Tom x15, Brad x5,Ollie x7,Tanner x2, Dean CC x 9, Aaron x 2, Rhys x3, Scott x5, Ryan x10, Adam x2, Kaine x5, Harris x3, Harrison x12, Redmond x3, Ali x1
Not sure who the tall boy was pinknick to be honest.He is one i havent seen before.Thats a good point though about the same boy doing both shows.I dont even remember if it was the same boy.Sorry
Dean Charles, Jake, Emily
Dad: David B
Mr. B: Sean Kingsley (replaced by Shaun Henson)
Fantastic show including the most incredible and best ever Electricity from Dean that I have seen that really left the crowd buzzing. It was so exciting talking afterwards to people seeing the show for the first time. They simply could not believe what they had just witnessed. All the questions. "How old is he?". "How long is he in the show?". "He originally played the Small Boy and Michael? You're joking!!!" Like Dean, they'll all be back.
A fun moment in Angry Dance when Billy's flask from the hut rolled and bounced to and off the front of the stage and into Row B like one of Barnes Wallis' Dambuster bombs. That gives you an idea of how powerful the dance was.
Sean Kingsley started as Mr. B but it was the hilarious Shaun Henson who pushed through the doors for Boogie. We heard afterwards that Sean wasn't feeling the best so here's wishing him a speedy recovery.
In the Part 2 curtain scene David Nellist, brilliantly funny as ever, brought a new name into his normal Sunderland joke. Initials JT should give you all a clue. One of the regulars got picked.
Joanna and David led the adult cast as brilliantly as ever. The parting scene between Mrs. W and Billy would draw tears from moon rock and the path to that scene has been superbly created by Joanna from the moment she comes through the doors in Shine. David's Dad is so different but also beautifully crafted.
The usual school groups in attendance thoroughly enhanced the atmosphere and the screams of delight as the cast took their well earned and deserved bows was music to the ears.
If there are any Forum members who don't go anymore because their favourite Billy left you are all missing something very special these days.
Good to hear that Dean is still knocking people's socks off, as he certainly did when I saw him in London this December.
patc wrote:Fantastic show including the most incredible and best ever Electricity from Dean that I have seen that really left the crowd buzzing. It was so exciting talking afterwards to people seeing the show for the first time. They simply could not believe what they had just witnessed. All the questions. "How old is he?". "How long is he in the show?". "He originally played the Small Boy and Michael? You're joking!!!" Like Dean, they'll all be back.
And they certainly will be.
You can't walk away from this show not wanting more.
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