Re: November 2014 Reviews - London
Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 9:55 pm
I was also at Matteo's performance on Saturday, he was fantastic I was sooo far away, I was on the back row of the Grand Circle
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patc wrote:Saturday 15th November – all day
What an absolutely brilliant double bill of top quality entertainment with two massive adoring audiences captivated for every second.
Starting off at the Matinee, Matteo blew everyone out of sight with a Billy performance of most magnificent excellence. What this boy has done since he arrived in May to take over this role is almost unbelievable. In football parlance this was Roy of the Rovers stuff except, unlike Roy, Matteo is for real. The doyens of showbiz who do the child casting in this show have an unerring habit of getting it right and to say that Matteo has justified their belief in him must be the understatement of the year. Blessed with a superb stage presence, a haunting voice, acting to die for and wonderful dancing skills it was totally appropriate that the entire theatre upstairs and downstairs was on its feet at the end. I found it emotionally uplifting from the viewpoint of both Billy and Matteo himself to watch it unfold. By the time we got to Electricity I was ready to evaporate and, when emotionally-charged Deka leapt from his seat to acknowledge what he had just seen, it was all too much. The tears streamed from my eyes.
Getting back to that Electricity it was quite something. Graceful dancing, the floating-Tornado-like spin near the end, the raised-arms-while-spinning plus the smile after it, that all-engaging smile that almost says, “bloody ‘eck was it that good?”.
Todd threw his body, heart and soul into presenting us with his unique interpretation of Michael and came out with glowing colours, not just in Boxing and Expressing, but in the more poignant moments he showed some lovely touches and facial expressions that conveyed his feelings towards Billy. The piéce de résistance, though, was his vital final curtain scene where he absolutely nailed Michael’s desolation in a manner that I have not seen bettered in my time seeing the show. It was gut-wrenching to watch amidst total silence and respect from the audience – that is, until some idiot with an extremely loud single clap (and a half) decided he/she wanted to spoil it and managed to persuade some others to follow suit. It is beyond me why someone in a theatre audience feels the need to draw attention to him/herself by this sort of thing. Not dissimilar to those concert-goers who insist on clapping after the Third movement of Tchaikovsky’s 6th – they completely misunderstand what is going on. Luckily, Todd wasn’t fazed and continued his moving performance until he disappeared from view.
Kyria has also just completed six months in the show. Right from Day One she showed she has what it takes to project Debbie's personality onto the stage. I'm never quite sure how you would actually describe Debbie's personality in words but, whatever it is, Kyria got it in one.
As if all that wasn’t enough the evening show was performed by the same cast as I saw on Thursday Matinee, Bradley/Tomi/Dayna. I already did a review of that show two days ago and yesterday’s performance was just as brilliant and uplifting and, yet again, a magnificent standing ovation from all.
Barnaby, in addition to delivering his usual two magical Dream Ballets, was called upon in the evening show to do his Ballet Dancer from Sheffield routine (mic working this time, thankfully) and he passed with flying colours. I enjoyed it immensely. Oh, Nic, where are you, LOL?
I had been disappointed by there being no announcement of leavers before the show but never fear, Mr. Walmsley was here. After the Finale he stepped forward and gave a most welcome and endearing farewell to all three Ballet Girl Groups and then brought Dayna forward to announce her retirement from the show after three fantastic years. Even by Dayna’s high standards she had kept the best wine ‘til last and her final performance at BETM was one that will long live in the memory. My grateful thanks to all the girls. There were some tears but, outside afterwards with their folks, they had the proverbial ball with songs and photos.
IMHO, there is no better person to do these honours than Deka. You can feel and hear the sincerity in his voice. You know he really is going to miss them.
The Adult cast and Ensemble are extraordinarily talented. Even when some are missing someone always effortlessly steps in to take their place in most convincing fashion.
I thank my lucky stars that I am in a position to see this show often. But Billy Elliot is not just a show. It is an experience - an incredible human experience of monumental proportions. Even if you never wanted to be a ballet dancer there is so much in there that is so true to many ordinary people’s lives.
With the current cast and music maestros the magic just goes on. In the original film, I think the final (adult) Michael’s comment was on the lines of “I wouldn’t miss it for the world”. That sums it up perfectly.
Pat
I guess that's often a possible issue, when the boys can begin their time in the show at around 10-11 and finish at 13-14. But it's never stated they're the same age in the musical (I think?).kport wrote: my only comment is that he and Bradley seem to be quite different ages; like a Year 8 with a best friend in Year 6. Which is fine, but slightly reduces the possibility of dramatic intensity in a few key scenes. Just my opinion.
In the original film version, there was a scene showing Billy and Michael in class together, which would indicate that they were in roughly the same grade in school. While this scene isn't in the musical, it would still seem a bit of a stretch for them to be best mates if Billy appears to be 13 and Michael looks like he's 10. I wonder if that might have been a major consideration in the original cast when the older of the three Billys (James Lomas) was always paired up with the older of the three Michaels (Ashley Lloyd) while the youngest Billy and Michael (Liam Mower and Ryan Longbottom) were always paired up together. It seems like they would still want to use that same plan now, pairing up Elliott and Zach, for example, whenever possible.OliverWaters wrote:I guess that's often a possible issue, when the boys can begin their time in the show at around 10-11 and finish at 13-14. But it's never stated they're the same age in the musical (I think?).kport wrote: my only comment is that he and Bradley seem to be quite different ages; like a Year 8 with a best friend in Year 6. Which is fine, but slightly reduces the possibility of dramatic intensity in a few key scenes. Just my opinion.
Of course, for the vast majority who see this for the first time, this issue may have little significance. For those who do notice this, or understand the story, it can have a dramatic importance. I saw Bradley and Tomi again last night, and they gave a fantastic performance, but it was evident that they appeared to be two different ages, not only in appearance but in personality. By the time of the 'kiss scene', Bradley came across as a single-minded young man, and Tomi as a pesky little boy. Even during the kiss, Bradley has to bend over so that Tomi can reach him. I am not criticising Tomi in any way, but if you watched that scene with that pair, and then saw it with Bradley and Zach, you would see a dramatic difference. Tomi is 'playing' and his Michael makes a joke of it; Zach is dead serious but tries to put on a brave face by playing around. Tomi and Bradley do a fine job, under the direction they are given. I am sure I am splitting fine hairs (and that the job of 'matching' pairs of actors at an age where they change almost week by week is almost impossible), but there we are. It is a conundrum for the director, and not the actors, to resolve. One solution may be found in the use of more pauses, to allow the actor a moment to reflect the pathos of the moment. (See below.)Todd wrote:In the original film version, there was a scene showing Billy and Michael in class together, which would indicate that they were in roughly the same grade in school. While this scene isn't in the musical, it would still seem a bit of a stretch for them to be best mates if Billy appears to be 13 and Michael looks like he's 10. I wonder if that might have been a major consideration in the original cast when the older of the three Billys (James Lomas) was always paired up with the older of the three Michaels (Ashley Lloyd) while the youngest Billy and Michael (Liam Mower and Ryan Longbottom) were always paired up together. It seems like they would still want to use that same plan now, pairing up Elliott and Zach, for example, whenever possible.OliverWaters wrote:I guess that's often a possible issue, when the boys can begin their time in the show at around 10-11 and finish at 13-14. But it's never stated they're the same age in the musical (I think?).kport wrote: my only comment is that he and Bradley seem to be quite different ages; like a Year 8 with a best friend in Year 6. Which is fine, but slightly reduces the possibility of dramatic intensity in a few key scenes. Just my opinion.
Practice makes perfectSheepdog wrote: Winner of the who- puts- on- shoes- first competition - Michael