February 2013 Reviews - London

[Billy Whiz]

Thursday, February 14th – matinee

What a pleasant surprise to see Kaine’s name on the board as I entered the VP. It was a name I was not expecting but there were no complaints from me or the others that I was with.

Kaine may be leaving in a couple of days but he is leaving at the top of his game. His singing is still great, acting top notch and his legendary dancing is still ……. well, legendary. It never ceases to amaze me how high he kicks his legs. It seems beyond what the human body can do but there it is right in front of my eyes.

This was probably his next to last performance but sadly the audience were not aware of it as they were a pretty miserable lot. Thankfully they did warm up a little bit in the second half but still not brilliant. This did not stop Kaine putting on a terrific performance ably supported by Thomas and Millie as well as the rest of this amazing cast.

The unsung heroes, the Ballet Girls, were as usual brilliant and the young, tiny, girl who plays Alison Summers – boy can she scream An incredible pair of lungs for someone so small.

It was nice that some of the Thursday matinee regulars who cannot make Saturday night got to see Kaine one final time.

Well done to the whole cast on a wonderful show.

[Yorkie]

You should write a review for us too, Yorkie.

PS: We do get quite a few reviews of the BETM Tour performances, both by critics and bloggers in each city, and by members when they see the show on the road.

Last time I posted any sort of comments/reviews about the show in the reviews thread it deteriorated in to WWIII with lots of mud slinging going back & forth - I've kept away from posting my thoughts ever since.

I do read the reviews of the Tour and enjoy them

Perhaps I didn't word my earlier comment clearly enough, but my intent on labelling that post a "rare review" wasn't meant to speak to the relative lack of total reviews from Forum members (compared to what we see here from the Tour locations), but rather was meant to say it's rare to see a non Forum member review these days regarding the London production. Of course, I think that's largely due to the fact that the show is approaching eight full years of existence in one location (as opposed to moving to a "new" city every few days - and thus providing a whole new set of potential writers/critics with the opportunity to write about the show).

No, your thoughts were well explained and you were right, the reviews of London shows are thin on the ground but a lot do get posted on to the Facebook fansite for each London Billy, it's just that they don't make it on to here. I am amazed though that patc can keep coming up with fresh and interesting reviews; always an enjoyable read even after he has seen the show #cough# more than once or twice #cough#

[ERinVA]

I am sorry that your experience in the Reviews thread all the way back in November 2011 was such a bad one that it has kept you from posting any more reviews, Yorkie.

Although I am aware of them, and even belong to a few of them, I don’t follow the various facebook appreciation pages, but I do know that reviews get posted on those pages. There is nothing preventing people who post reviews on facebook from posting them on here as well, as long as they follow our guidelines on posting about the children.

It appears to me that what happened had nothing to do with our forum rules about posts regarding the children, but about other disagreements.

I would encourage you to begin posting reviews on the forum again. Perhaps if you make a start, some others will follow.

[Billy Whiz]

Thursday, February 14th – evening

I don’t normally do two shows in one day but I am so glad I did. A great show in the afternoon with Kaine and then another in the evening with Tade.

I was fortunate to see Tade perform in New York a few times and I told people that I felt he would be a brilliant Billy to have in London. Boy was I right. From the moment he walked on stage you could see that he was in complete control. His acting is second to none and showed nice little touches. When the lady says to Billy “What does it feel like when you are dancing” you could see Tade thinking about the reply. He didn’t just break into Electricity – he used his eyes to look from one side to the other as if in thought. He sang the first line and then did it again. A really nice touch.

His singing is wonderful and you only need to see Youtube videos of him to see that he has a strong voice and very melodic.

Tade is not just an actor and singer, he is a serious triple threat. He can dance and dance really well. The first time we really got a chance to see his dancing was in Angry Dance and boy was it angry. He must have been exhausted at the end because he put 110% into it. Screams and shouts that have never been louder. I looked around the theatre at the end of AD and for a few seconds the audience were stunned and then they burst into rapturous applause.

The second half was pretty much the same as the first in that Tade was brilliant. I was looking forward to Electricity and I was not disappointed. Tade is a Ballet Billy with some nice acro included. I’m sure that fans of the show will not be disappointed. Tade received a long ovation at the end of Electricity and he had a big smile on his face.

The audience were fantastic and at the end of the show Deka gave a speech about voting for the Olivier Awards. His first words to the audience were “Wow! You lot can come again” He then proceeded to say that BETM were worthy winners of the award for Tade alone. He did say the same thing about Kaine in the afternoon.

Tade was ably supported by Jack and Macy along with the rest of the wonderful cast.

Kaine is leaving BETM on Saturday but he can leave in the knowledge that it is in safe hands with his replacement.

[Billy Whiz]

Here are a few photos from Kaine's last show. I'll try and write a bit of a review when I get a little time.

[porschesrule]

Here are a few photos from Kaine's last show.

As always, terrific pictures Billy Whiz. Thanks for sharing.

[dancingboy]

Saturday 16 February


This was to be Kaine Ward's 129th and final show as Billy. Leaving shows come and go, of course, but they are usually etched on the memory and this night most certainly will be. The atmosphere beforehand was terrific with a great buzz in the air. The regulars in attendance, and there were many, were able to spot former Billys Adam Vesperman, Josh Baker and Ryan Collinson, former Michaels Reece Barrett and Connor Kelly, many Ballet girls and they must all be applauded for being there to support Kaine on his last night. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Kaine's Mum, who told me that Kaine had been very nervous during the day, quite understandable I can imagine. Those nerves, though, were nowhere to be seen.
The customary last night applause greeted Kaine's arrival on stage and from then on we were treated to a simply superb performance from Kaine. I believe he excelled himself and that is no exaggeration. The audience, of course, loved every minute and extended ovations were given for the series of pirouettes in Solidarity, after a perfect Expressing Yourself with Joe Massey, and a standing ovation after Angry Dance.
You could not ask for more, but more was produced as Kaine and Barnaby danced their way through an exquisite Dream Ballet and the piece de resistance was, of course, Kaine's balletic version of Electricity. Almost the whole theatre rose as one to provide the longest and loudest ovation I have heard, but which was so richly deserved.
The show drew to a close and Kaine managed to hold his nerve throughout the curtain calls and with all the cameras clicking away. I am pleased to say that Mum survived the roller-coaster emotional evening too. She brought Kaine out to the front of the theatre so that he could be met by his fans and Kaine stayed for some time signing autographs and having pictures taken. We were all very grateful for that.
So, a wonderful, but emotional evening had come to a close. I count myself amongst the lucky ones to have been able to be there to witness it.

[MegaBillyfan]

I really wish I could have been there!

[MegaBillyfan]

Here are a few photos from Kaine's last show. I'll try and write a bit of a review when I get a little time.

A few wonderful pictures - thank you so much!

[ERinVA]

Thanks for the pics, David, and the review, dancingboy. Great to hear there was a good group of old friends there to support Kaine on his last night.