Billy Elliot the Forum

Thanks, David. Great photos!

Thursday 21st May – Evening

There were many new faces on stage, but from the performance given, you would not know that they were still in their first week of shows.

The malfunctioning set has, if anything, improved the first half of the show. The transition between scenes is smoother and the small bits that are missing do not detract from the show.

Phil Snowden has most certainly put his own stamp on Mr B and had the audience is stitches. Ruthie had an extra surprise during the routine when his trousers landed on her head!

Brodie & Tomi’s boxing scene was quite simply one of the funniest I’ve witnessed. David Bardsley standing in as George seemed to take a particularly heavy blow down below.

Brodie was outstanding. Angry dance was powerful. Dream Ballet was beautifully danced in sync with James Butcher. Electricity was sublime. His voice is so clear you can hear every word he says and sings.

On this evidence the next year is going to be an exciting time at the VPT.

Terrific pics and brilliant review of the 10th change ups; thanks!!!

Thanks for the excellent reviews, patc and jmh2014!

“Are the stairs really an unnecessary complication?”

Given the large number of set malfunctions in recent weeks, I imagine the consensus on this is rapidly changing.

Saturday May 23rd

The kitchen/bedroom set has been repaired and the show is back to normal.

There were, however, plenty of other props to cause Bradley trouble during the course of the matinee. There was a falling ketchup bottle, nicely caught before it hit the stage, a rouge chair which got in the way during Shadow Dance, a flying 50p in the pre Solidarity sequence and a cassette tape that was so tangled there was never a chance that it could be wound up. This was eventually handed over in a still unwound state. Add to this a very reticent audience and it was a tough show for all on stage. Despite all of this it was another wonderful performance.

The evening would turn out to be completely different.

The whole cast were on fire and a raucous audience responded in kind.

Todd as Michael has added some new things to his performance and led his Billy a merry dance during Expressing. His Winter scene almost stole the show. Connie as Debbie shows so much attitude. I would love to know what she says to Mrs W as she storms off stage when Billy comes back to say goodbye. The look on Ruthie’s face suggested she wasn’t expecting it.

David Bardsley standing in as George now performs a longer dance/boxing mix when he’s congratulating Billy. It had the audience howling with laughter.

Leading the cast as Billy and putting in a performance head and shoulders above anything he has produced before was Ollie Jochim. There were so many highlights to his performance, but it was Electricity that stole the show. Mesmerizingly beautiful just about does justice. The timing was also perfect with the last of countless pirouettes finishing right on the last beat of the music.

Every performance of BETM is superb entertainment, but every so often you get a show which is extra special. This was the case on Saturday evening.

jmh2014 wrote:Saturday May 23rd

The kitchen/bedroom set has been repaired and the show is back to normal.

There were, however, plenty of other props to cause Bradley trouble during the course of the matinee. There was a falling ketchup bottle, nicely caught before it hit the stage, a rouge chair which got in the way during Shadow Dance, a flying 50p in the pre Solidarity sequence and a cassette tape that was so tangled there was never a chance that it could be wound up. This was eventually handed over in a still unwound state. Add to this a very reticent audience and it was a tough show for all on stage. Despite all of this it was another wonderful performance.

The evening would turn out to be completely different.

The whole cast were on fire and a raucous audience responded in kind.

Todd as Michael has added some new things to his performance and led his Billy a merry dance during Expressing. His Winter scene almost stole the show. Connie as Debbie shows so much attitude. I would love to know what she says to Mrs W as she storms off stage when Billy comes back to say goodbye. The look on Ruthie’s face suggested she wasn’t expecting it.

David Bardsley standing in as George now performs a longer dance/boxing mix when he’s congratulating Billy. It had the audience howling with laughter.

Leading the cast as Billy and putting in a performance head and shoulders above anything he has produced before was Ollie Jochim. There were so many highlights to his performance, but it was Electricity that stole the show. Mesmerizingly beautiful just about does justice. The timing was also perfect with the last of countless pirouettes finishing right on the last beat of the music.

Every performance of BETM is superb entertainment, but every so often you get a show which is extra special. This was the case on Saturday evening.

I, too, was at the very enjoyable evening show on Saturday. Where I was seated I was able to hear what Connie said to ' Mrs Wilkinson' after the latter said ' Debbie, Go on..'. Connie responded with ' My God ', whilst pulling a face.

Thanks, jmh2014, for great review of Saturday.

dancingboy wrote:Connie responded with ' My God ', whilst pulling a face.

LOL, I was expecting something a little stronger than that. Well done, John, I can only lipread in Gaelic .

Pat

patc wrote:Thanks, jmh2014, for great review of Saturday.

dancingboy wrote:Connie responded with ' My God ', whilst pulling a face.

LOL, I was expecting something a little stronger than that. Well done, John, I can only lipread in Gaelic .

Pat

I think she says Oh My God!!! But close enough dancingboy x

Thanks dancingboy & Fishcake for the information.

I saw the show last night for the 3rd time at the VPT. I was surprised that there were a few blocks of empty seats in the stalls, which made me wonder if some large groups hadn't turned up for some reason - especially given that it looked nearly full when I tried to book online. I wondered if it puts the cast off when they see empty blocks of seats like that.

Anyway, sitting in row G gave me a great overall view of the show. It was really interesting to see a different Mrs W (Wendy Somerville, I think?) Although she wasn't as intense and as forceful as Ruthie, she added wonderful comic timing and energy to the role. I really enjoyed her take on it. It must be hard to remember so many lines and song words when you're an understudy and don't get to perform all that often. But she seemed very natural.

It was my first time seeing Nathan as Michael. I love the additions he puts in (like 'vroom vroom' on the bike, and 'weeeee' when George pulls him across the floor in the boxing scene). I noticed he waited quite a lot time to say 'yeah see ya Billy' at the very end, which I thought was really effective and powerful. I always enjoy seeing the little closing solo at the end of Express Yourself, and love the confidence that all the Michaels display in this.

Ollie is very charismatic, with bags of energy! He really lit the stage up and reminded me of how hard the Billy's have to work all the way through this show. I'm not sure that his ballet is his strongest point (he looked a little tired at the end of electricity and it seemed like he ended the spins a bit early, although of course first-timers would never have known and that 'raw' feel is what makes this show so real!), but his tap dancing is so effortless and natural, Angry Dance was fierce, and Born to Boogie was just joyful! For me, his acting ability is what stood out. He was able to convey such a wide range of emotions and I thought his comic timing was really brilliant. He completely won me over as Billy.

What really stood out to me last night was the reactions of the audience. I found it so interesting to hear when they laughed and when they became silent. In fact there was quite a lot of laughter in unexpected places (when Tony hit Dad, when Dad stormed into the ballet class and a couple of other serious places). I wondered if that's because there was a lot of kids in for half term, and they were unsure how to react to the more hard hitting sections. Laughter was loud and rife last night. Sections that got HUGE laughs were: Debbie's offer, the RBS cassette scene, Scottish dance scene and the Esquire joke. I've never heard the audience laugh so much (even Deka struggled to keep a straight face with the Scottish dancer). And then of course I heard lots of sniffing too, particularly in the final letter. By the final curtain, the audience seemed completely bowled over and lost in the moment. For me, it was a fantastic roller coaster ride of raw emotion...and seeing it for the 3rd time meant I focused more on the smaller details and clever choreography, rather than just looking at the main characters. The smallest ballet girl blew me away. She was so tiny yet such a fantastic and confident dancer!

Well, don't know when I'll get to see the show again. I saw it for the first time in Feb and it's been close to my heart since then, but probably not realistic for me to keep going now that I've managed 3 visits. In any case, and even if I don't get to see it again, that was a pretty special show to remember!!