As I posted in the Bjarni thread I saw two BE shows over the weekend in Iceland. Here I've extracted all the bits about BE from what I wrote about my trip.
First night:
"The theatre is fairly small, and for this performance I had a seat in the sixth row. With two teenage girls showing a distinct lack of interest in the show, on one side of me and an older woman, who apparently sings in the largest women's choir in Iceland and was recently in Birmingham in the UK for some concerts, on the other side. The performance started in a very similar way to the UK production which instantly brought a smile to my face, as it was the same, but in Icelandic!! The little boy was adorable. Today's Billy was played by Hjörtur and Michael by Grettir, I think. Both were excellent. Some of the enjoyable moments in the first half were the dressing up and make-up scene with Michael and the letter reading, which even in Icelandic made me go misty eyed.
At the interval I scurried to the bar and there was a guy ahead of me, ordering drinks in English. So, I made sure he heard me ordering mine, at which point he introduced himself and invited me to his table. He was Lee Proud who had done the choreography for the Icelandic Billy Elliot!!! We were joined by Chantelle Carey who has taught the Icelandic Billy's to dance! Not only that, but as I mentioned there were some special roles in the play today. Because the actor who usually plays Mr Brathwaite was ill, the director had to step in to play the role, but he couldn't do the dancing. So I saw a performance of Billy Elliot with a woman paying Mr Braithwaite's girlfriend who did the dancing parts in the scene where he usually does. The woman playing the part was none other than Chantelle!
The second half was arguably better than the first, and electricity was well danced by Hjörtur. The half drew to a close and then the curtain raised again for the encore finale involving the whole cast which was a nice way to end the show before Hjörtur got his standing ovation. I enjoyed it very much even if I didn't understand what they were saying. Although, it of course helped that I could essentially fill in the dialogue from my memory of the English version."
Second night:
I then made my way back to the hotel and after a short nap walked up to the theatre again. This time I had a seat in the third row, almost in the centre, which gave me a fantastic view of the performers. Tonight, as had been promised by Lee, the role of Billy was played by Bjarni, who had previously played the role of Michael before switching to play Billy in November. Well, he was fantastic! His dancing was excellent, especially considering all of the boys essentially had to be taught to dance from scratch by the lady I met yesterday, it was truly remarkable. He was a little less flamboyant than the Hjörtur in scenes like the boxing one, but overall he seemed to fit the role of Billy very well. I enjoyed his performance of the dresses scene with Michael, and he was very expressive in general. His tap skills were also excellent. His angry dance was fantastic, and comparable to a good show in London.
The interval passed without incident and in the second half I found myself utterly captivated by Bjarni's performance. The scene where he dances with his future self was astounding and had the audience applauding loudly. His performance in electricity was also superb and the look of joy on his face at the end of the routine as he stood there while the audience wildly applauded was a pleasure to behold. He quite deservedly got a standing ovation at the end of the show and I very much hope, after Billy Elliot closes in Iceland, he will get further opportunities for his talent.
The show according to Lee is set to finish mid-February, but he wasn't sure on the date. He was there to do the choreography for the new Mamma Mia! show, which if the enthusiasm of two Icelandic women I met on Friday is anything to go by, will be a great success. Billy Elliot must unfortunately end because the Theatre does not have enough storage space for all the sets, so if like me you need an excuse to visit the Land of Ice, then I can think of no better incentive than to see Billy Elliot. You will have to hurry though!"
I would love to see it again in iceland, but plane ticket prices for February are extortionate, so there is no chance! It's the premier in Malmö for me next.