Sometimes one is lost for words to describe a Billy show and last night was one of those nights. I am sure that Aaron (modest child as he is) would be the last person to want to wallow in a panegyric of praise but how he deserves to if he did. I never use the word 'awesome' in my reviews without just cause but the speed, accuracy and sheer delight of his Electricity for example was right out of the Liam Mower top drawer. It is not often that one sees a member of the audience punching the air at the end of this routine and an audience rise to a Billy as they (and I) did last night having witnessed and appreciated dancing at such an inspitational level. We all wanted to cheer this Billy to the VP rafters and we had just cause to do so thanks to an Aaron performance that had many audience members (from many comments I overheard) totally gobsmacked at the talent they had just witnessed.
Aaron is dialectically strong as well as being precise and thoughtful in his acting throughout. A nice blend of assertiveness and bemusement at those ballet girls and their even stranger teacher. The extra ounce of irritability I had craved from Aaron (see earlier reviews) was there in abundance. I cannot also recollect a Billy being so anatomically precise when he said to George 'but Michael has just punched you in the bxxxs'
BTB was skipped with dexterity and the Angry Dance bounced with life and aggressive tap vibrato of the highest order. Where Aaron had little slips (dream sequence for example) this was more due to over enthusiasm rather than timidity. Perhaps Aaron could benefit from working on his comedic timing: for example milking the 'you don't fancy me' line to Mrs Wilkinson and the 'fxxxy' invitation from Debbie. Also I would have liked to see The Letter and Letter reply spiced with more obvious emotion but having said that I think that I have never heard the phrase 'no she was just me mam' said so evocatively as Aaron did last night. Jam packed with sensitivity. On reflection these observations seem quite trivial when set in the context of the wider spectrum of what was a stella performance by Aaron overall.Of course no Billy is good without a Michael of equal intensity and skill to bounce off. The fun and synchronism betwen Aaron and Connor was a joy to behold so much so that the parting kiss cause much emotional reaction in the audience last night such had been the emotional empathy between the two friends. It was also good to see Connor working with what comes naturally to him without added extravagances. A very measured performance using his face to convey bucketloads of feeling and complexity which totally captivated the audience.
I must also mention Isaac Gryn (tall boy). I liked for example his little touches that brought the role to life. For example the mouthing of 'oh shit' and 'sorry' when scab Dad plucks him from the miner's hall. Note how he spits at the scabs returning to work as well as how he conveys so well the snotty public school Thomas. If anything I do not think the role of Tall Boy does justice to Isaac's incipient talent. I would really like to see him in a more demanding role. I think he would make an excellent Michael for example.
Overall though this was Aaron's night and the reaction of him to the audience and vice verca at the final curtain calls conveyed to me a real sense that neither wanted to let each other go. Aaron's family though had other ideas as he left with them post show for what will hopefully be a well deserved weekend break. I was also not surprised when a senior member of the cast signing my programme afterwards told me what a joy it was to act opposite Aaron.In my last review of Aaron I wrote of 'work in progress'. Last night however was nearly the real deal and what a fantastic one that turned out to be.
Maybe that explains why Dean did not come to the front of the stage as he usually does for his opening song. Maybe someone had warned him 