Wednesday 8th April and Thursday Matinee 9th April
It was thrilling to be back at the VPT after a two week absence. Nothing had changed. The show rolling along in magnificent style, the cast on fire and the music casting magical spells on the ear.
Wednesday evening it was new Billy, Thomas, at the head of affairs. As soon as this bundle of dynamite came onstage I felt I was being plugged into a wall socket. The almost sell-out audience must have felt the same because they, too, were buzzing from the off. 40 London Billys and no clones. The tradition continues. You lot coming from the US and elsewhere for the big May Showdown Week are going to be blown out of sight. But bring your tranquilisers. You’re gonna need them by the interval. After Thomas had brought the first half to a close with his
Angry Dance and the crowd going ballistic, getting up from one’s seat required some effort. The second half was equally as breathtaking and the energy levels were pumped up even further in a pulsating ballet
Electricity that concluded with long, well-deserved applause and Thomas responding with an appealing and appreciative well-timed smile that brought even more applause. He, of course, is at the beginning of what, hopefully, will be a long stint as Billy and watching him develop over the coming months is going to be a major highlight of 2015.
Thursday Matinee, the current longest serving Billy, Bradley, was at the helm. You lot coming from the US and elsewhere for the big May Showdown Week are going to be blown out of sight again. This will not be the Bradley you all saw last year. This is the Bradley who has matured and nurtured his role over the past 12 months into a phenomenon. The addition of the wall flip to his outstandingly spectacular street
Electricity was the final piece of the jigsaw. He is now the classy pro who exudes every molecule of Billy Elliot. Perfecto Magnifico. I don’t think that’s French but it will do. His calculated shaking-with-emotion body in
The Letter is a masterpiece of invention. His voice is as crystal as ever. A superb dancer. His special humble smile after
Electricity should be moulded for posterity.
Todd was on for both shows and was quite brilliant in getting into the heart and soul of Michael. Great comedic skills and fun facials in the
Boxing scene, as bright as Sirius and great tap in
Expressing, well-handled emotional changes in the
Winter Scene and a killer lonely final curtain moment. I’ll never forget the manner in which this scene hit me the first time I saw the show. It was the perfect, if so sad, finish. On that night, all those years ago, you could have heard a pin drop until the curtain hit the floor. Nowadays, early clapping sometimes is led from someone in the audience but I can easily shut that out and sit there and quietly absorb the emotional moment. Todd performed this moment absolutely exquisitely.
Connie arrived in Victoria Street in November and immediately hit all the right notes (and all in the right order, too). Dayna was a very hard act to follow but Connie took on the challenge with gusto and brings us a feisty but very loveable Debbie. I always enjoy that part of
Shine where her dancing legs become a blur as she vies with Tracy Atkinson during her “big moment”. She’s like greased lightning. Her acting and timing was spot on in both shows.
Which brings me nicely to the Ballet Girls and
Shine. What goes on here
is rocket science. Goodness knows how they manage to get all this together so amazingly well every time and you can see that they do it all like it’s the only thing they ever wanted to do. The highlight for me is the part where they all come back on stage in pink. This routine with all the jumps and shouts is a stunningly awesome spectacle. I have recently seen this for the first time from the Grand Circle and it is a kaleidoscopic miracle from up there which we shall all of us enjoy on 12th May.
Tall Boy Ryan gave me a shocking fright today. His headbash against the curtain was the most realistic I have ever seen, period. So realistic that I thought it was real, almost leaping from my seat to see if he was going to get up off the floor. Thankfully, he did.
Little Billy had already won the hearts of the audience as he climbed up onto the stage and he owned them after such a funny Boxing scene.
The adult cast is in the same mind-blowing form as they were for the Live Billy never letting standards fall. When Ruthie tells the Billys, “you are very f special” you can tell she is saying it to the individual Billy on stage as well as to the fictional Billy. You know she means every word of it. I do hope she will not be leaving any time soon. With Deka/David, Chris, Gillian together they make a top-class team of principals. Lee Hoy presented us with a beautifully danced (and flown)
Dream Ballet. Charlie Martin, likewise, a wonderful gentle sweet voiced Dead Mum.
There is a line in the show that belongs exclusively to one man and one man only, Spencer Cartwright
. No prizes for guessing which line.
So, there we are, another stunning double at the VPT. Unbeatable entertainment and don't forget,
today, FRIDAY (5pm) is the last day for voting in the Oliviers.
Pat