March 2010 Reviews - London

[burtond]

One thing that did irritate me was the audience seemed to be in a rush to leave, not waiting for the music to end, but I guess people had trains to catch etc. However, I for one, would've liked to stay in my seat and savour the last bits of Billy Elliot emotion

Same for me - did I mention it before? But it was not just this show, it seems to be normal.

The doors should be locked until the conducter puts his baton down at the very end! How dare they

[Thomas]

Good idea David! And the audience should be fixed to their seats (standing ovations are fine though)

But let me write something about today's performance, before David goes into details tomorrow

Monday 15th March 2010 – UK – London

Billy - Fox
Michael - George
Debbie – Fleur

What a wonderful evening with all those fans around! This doubles the fun. But no, I will not give up my first row middle seat ticket for Oliver tomorrow and join for Billy Elliot, like some of them proposed That was the second time I could see Fox and he has changed over the last one and a half years!

Let me try to go through the show chronologically. "The stars look down": I really like this song, as it expresses all the hope the people have at the beginning of the long conflict. Today it was not too loud, which it sometimes is. This is also the first appearance of Billy, and to my impression Foxes voice has matured. Not too much, but no soprano any longer (someone more knowledgeable might correct me).

The early morning scene, with the whole family: very funny. I can laugh at the pancake/sugar scene every time I see it. Then Billy with grandma: obviously not only Foxes voice has matured, but his acting also, simply perfect. Interaction with his mom, very thoughtful. The boxing scene, funny as always with an intermediate applause for small boy when he gives up over his pushups. So sweet.

Shine: again with a brilliant Caroline Deverill. Very good voice, strong presence. I could imagine, that it is not easy for Billy and the girls to pretend, they cannot dance: they did it perfectly, though! In the bridge to the next scene we see Billy doing some shadow play while he imitates some dancing moves. Fox made it quite clear in this short scene, that his dancing skills are without question.

This leads over to "We'd go dancing". Not really my song. The more often I hear it, the better it gets, nevertheless, not my favourite. Which does not mean, that it wasn't performed very well!

Bridge to "Solidarity": funny and good played by the policemen. Interaction of Billy and Debby very good. It is important that Debby reacts reasonably to the fact, that Billy's mom is dad, which Fleur does!

"Solidarity": certainly one of my favourites! I like the mixture of the miners conflict with the dancing lessons (nevertheless I would like to have a pure Solidarity song on CD). This is the scene, when it turns out, Billy has potential. Fox played the scene when Mrs. Wilkinson explains pirouetts differently, as he stood besides the girls and just Debby observed him closely. This is the first time, Debby shows her affection for Billy and very good played by Fleur. And also very good, that Fox reacted to this.

Bridge to "Expressing yourself". When Billy gets banned from ballet lessons: Billy shouts "I hate you" at his father and then calls him a bastard. This is difficult to play convincingly, but Fox made it! Then Mrs. Wilkinson persuades Billy to private lessons. Also difficult to play, but no problem for Fox.

"Expressing yourself": George and Fox were just having fun. George made Fox grin a couple of times, which was perfect. By the way, in German I would call George a "Rampensau". For all who have followed me until here: now you can find out, what that means, as there is no translation in English

Bridge to "The letter" when the situation at home goes out of control: Craig Gallivan as Tony is brilliant! Very convincing indeed.

"The letter": I have heard this song so often now, but it still moves me.

"Born to Boogie": three great singing and dancing actors on stage!

Bridge to "Angry dance", which starts with Debby and Billy. Good acting at first, but when Debby proposes the unspeakable Fox just grinned, before he acted again I liked it that way, too Then the scene, when Billy shows his affection for Mrs. Wilkinson: very believable! Then at home, when everything escalates. Again great acting of Craig Gallivan!

"Angry dance": energetic, strong, very good presence. I would like to know, how the kids prepare for this scene.

After the interval the funny talk of Dad: again he picked me I know, it is just that seat "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher": I catched myself singing a few lines but realized soon enough!

Then one of Dads best scenes "Deep into the ground", where I realized, that David Bardsley has a really good voice. Then Billy joins in. Very good acting of Fox in the Bridge to the Swan Lake scene together with George.

"Swan Lake scene": I could watch this over and over. The music is so fantastic. And the duet of Fox and Barnaby was thrilling. Fox seemed to have lots of fun during that scene!

"He could be a star": good acting and singing between David and Craig.

Bridge to "Electricity" starts with the collection of the money. That was Craigs best scene, as he made me cry in the end. I believed him! The scene leads over to the funny scene before the curtain. Very good acting of David and I had to realize, that he plays very differently to Joe Caffrey. A little less silly I would say.

"Electricity": Fox at his best. And David (burtond) I disagree: also the street Billys dance differently. Fox has definitely the most acro in it! I hear this song often at home and sing to it. Fortunately for the rest of the audiance I could control myself this time. Foxes interpretation is definitely better!

Bridge to "Once we were kings", when Billy receives his result: nicely played. "Once we were kings": the other scene, where I had to cry. I love to see Billy standing in the light of the miners headlights. This makes a strong impression on me.

"Letter reply": very touching. When Fox came down directly in front of me, I again realized, how much this little man impressed me. When he is on stage, I don't see a kid in him, but an absolute professional.

Then the goodbye scene between Billy and Michael. My impression was, that George nearly cried, when the curtain came down. And I could understand this. Thank god we have the finale and it ended with a well deserved standing ovation!

So David, would you please fill in the gaps?

Cheers - Thomas

[burtond]

Monday 15th March 2010 – UK – London

Billy - Fox
Michael - George
Debbie – Fleur

Dad – David Bardsley; Tony – Craig Gallivan; Mrs W – Caroline Deverill ; Mr B – Sean Kingsley; Grandma – Romy Baskerville; George – David Nellist; Dead Mum – Samantha Seager; Older Billy – Barnaby Meredith; Ballet Dancer in cream tights – James Foster; Big Davy - Phil Snowden; Musical Director – Matt Malone.

Well Thomas, I don’t know about filling in the gaps, your review is extremely comprehensive and I am in agreement with everything you say. Can I just add that your command of English is excellent I feel personally embarrassed that I am unable to communicate other than in English with any of our European friends – dash – typical British approach!

If you will all permit me I would still like to add to the Monday review though although my focus may be slightly blinkered.
Anyone who reads the Forum posts will recall that I did predict that last nights show would be fantastic – I get these feelings from time to time and am usually right (ask my work colleagues about winning contracts!) Fantastic it was – in fact better than fantastic – stupendous, pure magic, 1000% pure enjoyment and highly entertaining. This is my reason for visiting the show time after time. It makes me feel absolutely wonderful, a great feeling of well-being, satisfaction, wholeness and completeness. My life is so much more meaningful and my work so much more exhilarating with ‘Billy’ beside me – it is ‘Billy’ that brings the passion out of me and with ‘Billy’ by my side I feel that I can conquer the world - for that, I will be eternally grateful.

The prediction of a good show is not hard really – through posts on the forum it was clear that there was going to be a good fan base on the front row – Thomas, Pinknick and friends, Paul, myself and a ‘Billy’ virgin colleague of mine Mike who is well into Musical Theatre. How important it is for Billy fans to be present at these performances because we have the ability to get the audience wound up through our knowledge of the show; when to laugh, when to clap and when to scream and shout praise at the cast. Dare I say that we almost become part of the performance and yes, the audience are ‘brought on’ and are quickly warmed up to enjoy the show on a higher plane. I have said it before and I will say it again, a GREAT, RESPONSIVE and APPRECIATIVE audience invariably makes for a fantastic show – why, because the cast feel the support and appreciation and this ALWAYS lifts their performance. So listen here you Producers, here’s a proposition – based on the fact that people attending an exceptional show and who thoroughly enjoy it will tell their friends and family to come along (they may even come along themselves again and again) why not ensure that Row B is filled with appreciative and responsive Forum members every night and make these seats available FOC. Radical but potentially highly effective!!

OK, back to last nights performance – Memorable from beginning to end with top class performances from each and every member of the cast – please see Thomas’s review for a comprehensive walk-through of the show, start to finish. What an absolute pleasure to see Fox and George together in what is their final two weeks performing in the show. I’ll stick my neck out here (I usually do to the annoyance of some!) but Thomas commented that George had an emotional moment towards the end of the show – looking at the timescales, and through discussion with other Forum members, this could possibly be the penultimate time that Fox and George will work professionally together on Billy Elliot before their Finale – I think I would be moved too. Certainly there were subtle enhancements of the scenes they play together. You have to be close up to appreciate these -look carefully at their faces, their eyes and focus on their body language – last night it was definitely different to the norm – both Fox and George seemed personally to gain so much from each other – it was like watching a comedy duo like Morecambe and Wise – it was like Fox and George had been working together all their lives – impeccable timing. I love the nods and winks to each other that were not meant to see – it is clear to me that these two are the best of friends and I hope that they are able to build on this remarkable friendship throughout the rest of their lives once Billy is behind them.

I personally think that last night, I saw George in the role of Michael like never before. He quickly realised that the audience were with him and played right into their hands. The audience loved him and he gave 200% back in return. Every word, every movement was accentuated and his interaction with Fox was simply wonderful.

Fox – well, where do I start? His performance left me speechless. Simply awesome. This guy is Billy perfection – so talented, so believable, so sensitive and emotional – he is right at the top of his game and I am so sad that he has chosen to move on. Boundless energy in the show; like George he gave absolutely everything last night and boy, didn’t we see the evidence of this especially as the first act draws to a close – his face glowing with perspiration, it looked like he had worked a double shift down the mine. The thing I like about Fox is that really, he’s just an ordinary guy – he shows up time after time and performs this role of Billy Elliot and he doesn’t appreciate just how brilliant he is (perhaps he does – but it does not go to his head). I appreciate that the time has come for him to focus on GCSE’s etc but he should quickly return to the stage and screen once completed so that we can all have the ‘Fox Fix’ again.

I suppose my reviews are pretty predictable (Fox fan – Billy fanatic etc) – I was eager to speak with my colleague Mike the Billy Virgin who attended the show last night with me. Mike has listened to me rave about the show for weeks and like most if not all of my other colleagues, friends and family, thought I was absolutely loopy with an unhealthy addiction to the show. Not surprisingly, he was bowled over by the whole experience. I noticed him laughing out loud from the very beginning of the show and during the interval drink he commented positively on every aspect of the show particularly the exceptional talent of the Children and of course Fox. The second half was no different and I even heard gasps of wonder and delight during the Dream Ballet sequence and Electricity. At the end, he concluded that it was the best thing that he had seen and more importantly, he could now understand how we were all sucked into this BE abyss. I’m sure it won’t be long before he’s back with his lady in toe.

There is one little cameo role I want to mention before I close. It involved Joel Montague (Swing) who last night also took the role of the Pianist during the audition scene. I appreciate that this is a 10 second appearance but he brought something completely new to this character. He played it like the Mad Professor – Curly hair all over the place, large glasses perched on the end of his nose, rolling eyes and a little camp in his portrayal – lots of effort for such an insignificant part. Great interpretation Joel – I for one noticed and really appreciated it. But this is how Billy is – there are loads of these brief cameo characters taken by the ensemble and everyone, takes the opportunity of making these insignificant characters both interesting, sometimes comical but believable.

Anyway to round off a truly amazing experience had the opportunity to see the Billy’s and Michaels get into the Billy Bus and to let Fox and George know that their performance was ‘Awesome’ which was acknowledge by both lads including a ‘thumbs up – OK’

Looking forward to tonight!

[chocchipcookie26]

''MattMaloneMD Not sure l'll ever forget the sight of George looking at me whilst crying and mouthing "Goodbye Matt". Shame the damn Sax player was flat!!! ''

From his twitter
Fantastic reviews!
x

[pinknick103]

Totally agree with the previous reviews - fantastic night, fantastic audience, fantastic show.
Just a few bits to add @

George - amazing last night - was still teary when he came back on for the curtain call. Bless him. Scares me as to how upset he will be at his final show. Boy is it gonna be an emotional one. He was so so funny during express - loads of extra little winks and nods, which made Fox chuckle !!!! A total joy to watch.

Small boy - we had Rudi last night - what a lovely small boy he is. He got an applause when he climbed up onto the stage. He 'oh jesus' lines we delivered perfectly, and he too got a clap for these - ive never seen this before. His w*****r line was also delivered with perfection and got a tremendous response.

Ballet girls - my current favourite team were on last night - the one that Eden plays Tracey Atkinson - they are all so mischevious. Fab little actors, and obviously awesome dancers.

Caroline Deverill - 2nd time seeing her as Mrs W and what a performance she gave. Loved it. She reminds me of Kate Graham. A fab dancer in Born to Boogie and lovely voice. Love the relationship she has with Billy - very moving and touching to watch. Was lovely to have the chance to speak to Caroline on the train on the way home - Itold her how fab I though she had been. She was lovely to chat to

Overall fantastic night. Wish I could be there tonight as well ... make that every night !!!!!!! xxx

[Muppet]

WOW...some very enthusiastic reviews there!! Keep them coming!!

[burtond]

WOW...some very enthusiastic reviews there!! Keep them coming!!

Muppet, you should've been there it was simply wonderful.
Mind you, tonight was another superb show too - thats two in a row - quite unusual I'd say. Tom performing beyond his best and another full, animated and enthusiastic audience who appeared to love every second of the show.
I'll do a review tomorrow after a good nights kip!

[PaulT]

Sorry Thomas but you made the wrong decision. Two brilliant shows on the trot.

[burtond]

Tuesday 16th March 2010 – UK – London

Billy - Tom
Michael - Jake
Debbie – Emily

Dad – Joe Caffrey; Tony – Craig Gallivan; Mrs W – Jo Riding ; Mr B – Sean Kingsley; Grandma – Romy Baskerville; George – David Nellist; Dead Mum – Samantha Seager; Older Billy – Barnaby Meredith; Ballet Dancer in cream tights – James Foster; Big Davy - Phil Snowden; Musical Director – Matt Malone.

My second show of the week and, if you had the opportunity to read the review for Mondays performance, you’ll appreciate that it would be a difficult act to follow. Mondays show was excellence indeed, surprisingly Tuesdays show also ranked amongst the best shows that I have seen too. Two superb shows in two nights – that is some going! A brilliant and appreciative lively and full audience warmed up in the first act by enthusiastic forum members sat in the front row and cast members who I sense are delighted to receive so much reaction and feedback and then find themselves playing to the audience and finding the extra 50% on top of the 100% they always give to the show. This is the winning formula and will apply equally regardless of who is playing who on the stage.

Tonight it was Tom – for me, he has been the least seen Billy but I have to say he gave a remarkable detailed, animated, energetic and sensitive performance throughout – I can see why the lady Forum member (sorry, embarrassed that I didn’t catch your name)from Haywards Heath waxes lyrical over him. He was (throughout the performance) delightful to watch in every respect – his interpretation of Billy totally gripping and intense.

Have to single out ‘Solidarity’ at this stage. This is a spectacular bit of musical theatre and the artistic creation of this number has to be applauded. It is complex in structure – the concept is that it is a passing time vehicle i.e conveying to the audience that the action on stage is taking place over a number of weeks. This is achieved very cleverly by interspersing riot police, miners and ballet dance sequences using music, song, costume change, routine, lighting and exceptional choreography. I love this number – no I really love this number – for me it is the best part of the show. Yes, the spectacle generated by the whole cast whether they be Police, Miners or Dancers is awesome but the really favourite bits are a) when Billy pirouettes across the stage to Mrs W; b) when Billy holds the figure of the Ballet dancer as Mrs W corrects his arm, wrist, tummy and chin; c) when Billy does his multiple turns from stage left to right followed by the ballet leap and finally d) at the end of the number when Billy has mastered his basic technique and demonstrates this to Mrs W as the song concludes. All of these really stir me up emotionally - I am sat on the edge of my seat, gripped by the whole visual spectacle – I am very much inspired by what the lads can do – could this have been me when I was 12? – should my career have gone down a different path? – would I have ever been good enough?, would I have had the commitment, how would my family have dealt with it? At the end of this number I just want to erupt with shouts of praise and rapturous applause – it is so, so powerful for me. All these young stars are living the dream – so happy for them. Hope you get the picture!

Another element of the show I should single out is Tom’s ‘electricity’. This was simply awesome – he catapults himself across the stage perpetually with such precision and finesse it is just mind-blowing. I also felt last night that there were new elements in his routine which I have not seen before – these just added to the magical experience of the wonderful piece. Would go so far as saying that we are seeing Tom at the top of his game – why is it that these guys have to move on? (Sorry – it’s the selfish in me coming out again.)

Jake and Tom performed an hilariously funny ‘Expressing yourself’ routine and worked so well together as a partnership. Jake is so cheeky and I love the way in which he uses his spectacles to add to the humour of the piece. No lipstick again tonight which caused the boys to adapt a small part of the routine but of course, its only us saddies that know!

Anyway, would like to write more but need to get on with some work now. Looking forward to next week which will be a totally new experience on the basis that we are led to believe that Rhys is due to start in the role of Billy on Wednesday. This should be a wonderful evening.

TTFN.

David

[cuuush]

What an amazing bunch of reviews! Thank you
Do you mean that Tom is moving on soon or just generally that they will all leave sometime? Need to know when to book plane tickets and all.