January 2012 Reviews - London

[ERinVA]

Thanks for the great review, Den. And welcome back!

[Billy Whiz]

Thanks Den and as ERinVA has already said "welcome back".

[patc]

Indeed, Den. It was great to see you back at the VPT and to be there to see the incredible Ryan in full flow for this was, even by his already high standards, something to behold. After that amazing Angry Dance and shriek you could hear the audience gasping with astonishment before he even got up off the floor. The thundering applause then said it all. His all-action gravity-defying Electricity was his third this week having produced an equally astonishing full performance on Thursday matinee as well as coming on at the interval to replace the injured Josh later on Thursday evening. Eat your hearts out all ye other West End shows. You ain't got nobody to match 'wor Ryan.

Just a few extra words about Kieran Jae. He seems to have sprung from virtually nowhere and has succeeded in bringing Tony to places Tony hasn't been before. Tour-de-force isn't really adequate to describe it but it will have to do for now. The scene between him and Dad at the pit is almost unbearable to watch such is the emotion it engenders. The final Kitchen scene when news of the Union cave-in arrives takes your breath away and, even in We Once Were Kings, he is still visibly distraught.

Talking Of Dad, Deka Walmsley is clearly a man who was born to play Jackie Elliot. From all angles he is absolutely the business.

The untimely passing of Romy cast a shadow over the VPT during my visits this week but, as she looked down on the stage from on high, I feel sure that she was jubilant that Billy is as she left it, as good as ever it has been and still the best show in town.

Pat

[Billy Whiz]

The untimely passing of Romy cast a shadow over the VPT during my visits this week but, as she looked down on the stage from on high, I feel sure that she was jubilant that Billy is as she left it, as good as ever it has been and still the best show in town.

Pat

That is beautifully put Pat.

[Chris]

Talking Of Dad, Deka Walmsley is clearly a man who was born to play Jackie Elliot. From all angles he is absolutely the business.

Yes: I was distinctly unimpressed with Martin Marquez as Dad; I remember Deka as being the stand out performance of the new cast in November. I haven't seen the new cast since then, and probably won't get there for another month, but I'm looking forward to seeing Deka again.

The untimely passing of Romy cast a shadow over the VPT during my visits this week but, as she looked down on the stage from on high, I feel sure that she was jubilant that Billy is as she left it, as good as ever it has been and still the best show in town.

Agree! Reading of Romy's death made me dig out my copy of the Elton John demos and listen to "Goodbye Grandma" again - seemed so appropriate.

[jacob]

Friday January20th

Adam
Reece
Emily

Firstly, as far as I am aware nothing went wrong and no one got injured. If I were to be really picky, I would say that the stage management was less than perfect as there were some strange 'noises off' and techs were all too visible behind the set windows. Nothing major however. The theatre was busy as one would expect on a Friday evening. Several 'alternates' were in the cast including Grandma (Gillian Elisa),Older Billy (James Butcher) and a Mr Braithwaite who I had not seen before. Judging from recent reviews Kieran Jae seems to play Tony quite frequently these days as does Caroline Deverill as Mrs W. All were excellent.
During the evening I became increasingly fascinated by Adam's acting. From the moment he made his entrance he was totally focussed and inside the character of Billy Elliot. His acting is now of the very highest order. I found the way he used his eyes to be intriguing as this is an unusual skill for an actor of his age. His wide eyed and blinkless reaction to Debbie's offer to show him her f*nny showed both shock and excitement. In fact there were many instances when his emotions of anger and amusement were projected not just via facial expressions but with his eyes. I have praised Adam's dancing before and once again it was exciting to watch. In B to B he timed his changes of shoes, his ascent to the piano and forward roll to perfection. He landed on his feet, held the position and only then collapsed to the floor. This sequence has been in the Show since day one and it provides a defined ending to the scene before the blackout. If only the creative team would get rid of the wretched skipping which I think just destroys the flow of the scene .

Other reviews have praised Reece and I absolutely agree. He is soo funny. Well done Colby (again) who is a wonderful small boy.

Finally, The Victoria Palace is now an island in a very large building site with some massive excavations. Many pedestrian areas have been removed and access from bus or tube requires complex navigation and a certain degree of courage It is best to allow plenty of time to be sure of seeing Small Boy start the Show!

[Billy Whiz]

Thanks for the review jacob.

If only the creative team would get rid of the wretched skipping which I think just destroys the flow of the scene

There's no argument from me jacob.

[dancingboy]

I have to agree with patc when he says that the show is as good as ever. Last week I was at the theatre on three or four occasions and saw my Fab Four (no, not the Beatles) of Josh, Ryan, Adam and Kaine perform as well as they ever have done. Their performances are so consistent and, in fact, generally improve over a period of time. As has been said before, each show is a little different from the one you may have seen previously, and to me it makes little or no difference as to who is playing on stage. During the week we had several changes of cast and it was good to see Caroline Deverill (what a pity it is that she will be leaving the show shortly), David Bardsley and Keiran Jae at various times, but it simply does not matter who you see, the story is never less compelling to watch and one is never disappointed at the end of it. So congratulations to each and every member of the cast, including Ballet girls, Tall Boys and Small Boys for providing us with such good entertainment.

[KeefyM]

(As Keith was not there last night you will have to put up with the above,but at least you will not have to take a day off work to read it!)

haha, brilliant Den. Although, I would like to point out that I accept no responsibility for anyone who is fired from their job for taking a day off work to read my reviews on here or on Facebook.

Welcome Back, and thanks for a great review.


Great reviews and comments, Pat, Jacob and Dancingboy, really enjoyed reading them and it certainly seems both Adam and Ryan put on amazing shows on Friday and Saturday as did the whole cast, so well done to everyone. Looking forward to getting back to the VP at the end of this week for some more top class entertainment, because as Pat has said, the show is a good as ever and still the best show in town.


As usual, keep the reviews coming folks!.


Cheers
Keefy

[patc]

Saturday 28th January - Both shows

During my early hiking days in the Wicklow mountains there were one or two that were deceptive. You'd arrive at a place where the top ought to have been only to find another ridge (or even two) still lay ahead before you reached the top. The view got better the higher you went. In the different seasons the views differed considerably. Billy has a certain similarity in that, over the years, just when you thought it was at its peak it got better and the views are changing all the time. Both shows on Saturday confirmed this.

This production with new cast has changed but it is hard to adequately describe how. All the fine old ingredients are still there but there is a new sparkle, the pacing has quickened up right from the start where even Big Davey's adventure with the used-to-be-bean sandwich has been shortened, the previous attention to detail that we know and love has been refined even further. It's as if someone sat down with pen and paper in hand (or maybe laptop) and made fine-tuning notes for every single scene and the cast took it all on board with revised interpretations of characters, words and situations. The result is a cracking, whirlwind show that never lets up and leaves you outside in the street by either 5.19pm or 10.19pm full of all the joys of living.

Adam, 5,000 miles from home, was on for the Matinee and Josh from, basically, "up the road" did the evening show. Two different styles but both shows were classics. As often as I have seen these incredibly talented boys in action on stage the mind still boggles at the end of every show. Supporting them as Michael we had Reece and then Connor Kelly. Again both different but magical. Looking back through the records I first saw Connor in Dec 2009 and Reece in Sept 2010. That's a long time to be performing the same role and yet neither of them do autopilot. It's 100% commitment every time and I am always so pleased at the rapturous, appreciative applause that they receive from the audience who understand how important the role of Michael is in the show.

There is so much to see and enjoy from the adult cast. There is a huge bonus for regular fans in seeing how the new cast have taken to the roles and developed them so wonderfully well. It is rich and absorbing entertainment of the highest calibre.

As the curtain descended on Connor Kelly's gut-wrenchingly plaintive final scene on Saturday evening there was no doubt in my mind that the next ridge had been reached. Is there a higher one? I suspect that, like the Wicklow Mountains, there may well be but I'm extremely happy with the view from the present one.

Pat