Harrison Dowzell
Reece
Dayna
I entirely concur with everything that dancingboy has said.
David Massey introduced Harrison as the 30th London Billy at the start of the evening. He proceeded to thank Harrison's family and also his two dance teachers from the Rollo Acadamy.
It was quite simply Harrison's night. To risk a cliche.........he came, he saw, he conquered. We saw a young man with a strong stage presence and striking acting skills. In each scene he stamped his own interpretation on his lines through inflections and pauses. He was totally focussed and in Act One overcame a cough that was agravated by the various types of smoke. His eyes and face were expressive of a whole range of emotions, from fear at the violence around him, to laughter at Grandma dancing, to amazement at Michael wearing a dress
. I was particularly taken by the way in which the adult cast and musicians were energised by Harrison's performance. Everything came alive in a way that does not always happen on a Monday night
The audience responded with lots of spontaneous applause and many standing ovations. I should add that a number of past cast members were in the audience including Layton Williams and Shaun Henson.
This First Night was a triumph and I felt privileged to be in the audience.
