AN OVERVIEW OF THE PRODUCTION
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:20 pm
If you are intending to watch a performance of Billy at Curve, I strongly suggest that you stop reading now and enjoy the surprises in real time at the theatre. This review is meant to give a general overview of this reimagined production, which is in some ways very similar and in other ways very different to the original.
The script is much as before - music, lyrics, swearing, scene sequence and progression, etc. If you heard an audio only recording it would only be now and again that you would notice any deviation from the original. What is very different is how it looks, where and how stage activity takes place, and how it is lit. This week we are in previews, and there were some changes on the second night. There may be more changes before press night. So what is different ? Every scene is in some way altered, often radically. The Curve location itself is an important factor. It has a very large stage, which can be very dark and cavernous, with state of the art lighting rigs and floor lifts. Look at this previously posted link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdiTl_Bb24Y to get a view of the stage layout, and how they will use lighting. Most importantly there are fences (about ten feet in height ?) which can be linked together, moved around and are integral to numerous scenes, creating boundaries, or walls to imagined rooms. Noticeable differences are that there is not a ballerina tutu in sight (sorry, there is one worn by Michael); no feather fans, but instead copies of the Socialist Worker newspaper ; there is no sight of the orange NUM working clothes worn by the miners, they just tend to wear casual period clothes; and for example during Grandma’s song there are no other dancers, and she finishes by dancing with Billy. I think that this may be to reduce the number of costume changes for each scene.
Lucy Hind, the choreographer, also refers to herself as a movement director. The important question to be answered is how do they deal with the dance routines. Lucy Hind declined to view any of the recordings of BETM in case she was influenced by what she might see, so there was a blank page to work on. We are also of course dealing with young actors who have had only a short period to prepare, might not have a dancing background, and have not had the luxury of attending a Billy school where they can hone their skills over many months. I suspect, though in truth I have no real knowledge, that they have been given a crash course in particular styles and movements, and for the rest they have to rely on the exuberance of youth, and to individually express themselves. Whatever the case, in the two performances I saw, each Billy gave a creditable display of dancing and were loudly applauded by the audience.
What sort of scene differences are we talking about ? As an example, if we look at Expressing Yourself which previously took place at the home of Michael. In this interpretation the location is unspecified, but is a room constructed of perimeter fences at the front of the stage with a number of small lockers (miners changing room ?). Michael enters in an ankle length sophisticated dress and heels, as though taking part in a photo-shoot, being snapped on a camera by one of the boxing boys, and posing like a model every few seconds. Billy enters, the usual dialogue takes place, Billy ends up in a similar dress and they go into a dance routine. No tapping whatsoever. No dancing dresses. Instead a large group of ballet girls/boxing boys then enter with two or three playing musical instruments. The whole group then joins in an extended dancing routine. It worked well and the audience loved it. Another scene with significant changes is Dream Ballet. This again takes place within a fenced enclosure and Older Billy (William Atkinson) dances with Billy. No flying scenes. The dance routine is fairly simple, though William Atkinson is clearly an accomplished ballet dancer. Dead Mam makes an appearance in this scene and stands in support of Billy .
To say again, each scene has a minor or major tweak, but all of which fit in with the overall storyline. You really cannot appreciate what it will look like until you have seen it play out. I personally very much enjoyed both performances, and comments overheard from other audience members were very positive and enthusiastic. Sorry, If I have failed to convey the difference between the two versions.
A final point. The adult casting was excellent, and Sally Ann Triplett is an outstanding Mrs Wilkinson. If anyone has any specific questions, I’ll try to answer, but my memory banks self-destruct more quickly than they used to.
The script is much as before - music, lyrics, swearing, scene sequence and progression, etc. If you heard an audio only recording it would only be now and again that you would notice any deviation from the original. What is very different is how it looks, where and how stage activity takes place, and how it is lit. This week we are in previews, and there were some changes on the second night. There may be more changes before press night. So what is different ? Every scene is in some way altered, often radically. The Curve location itself is an important factor. It has a very large stage, which can be very dark and cavernous, with state of the art lighting rigs and floor lifts. Look at this previously posted link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdiTl_Bb24Y to get a view of the stage layout, and how they will use lighting. Most importantly there are fences (about ten feet in height ?) which can be linked together, moved around and are integral to numerous scenes, creating boundaries, or walls to imagined rooms. Noticeable differences are that there is not a ballerina tutu in sight (sorry, there is one worn by Michael); no feather fans, but instead copies of the Socialist Worker newspaper ; there is no sight of the orange NUM working clothes worn by the miners, they just tend to wear casual period clothes; and for example during Grandma’s song there are no other dancers, and she finishes by dancing with Billy. I think that this may be to reduce the number of costume changes for each scene.
Lucy Hind, the choreographer, also refers to herself as a movement director. The important question to be answered is how do they deal with the dance routines. Lucy Hind declined to view any of the recordings of BETM in case she was influenced by what she might see, so there was a blank page to work on. We are also of course dealing with young actors who have had only a short period to prepare, might not have a dancing background, and have not had the luxury of attending a Billy school where they can hone their skills over many months. I suspect, though in truth I have no real knowledge, that they have been given a crash course in particular styles and movements, and for the rest they have to rely on the exuberance of youth, and to individually express themselves. Whatever the case, in the two performances I saw, each Billy gave a creditable display of dancing and were loudly applauded by the audience.
What sort of scene differences are we talking about ? As an example, if we look at Expressing Yourself which previously took place at the home of Michael. In this interpretation the location is unspecified, but is a room constructed of perimeter fences at the front of the stage with a number of small lockers (miners changing room ?). Michael enters in an ankle length sophisticated dress and heels, as though taking part in a photo-shoot, being snapped on a camera by one of the boxing boys, and posing like a model every few seconds. Billy enters, the usual dialogue takes place, Billy ends up in a similar dress and they go into a dance routine. No tapping whatsoever. No dancing dresses. Instead a large group of ballet girls/boxing boys then enter with two or three playing musical instruments. The whole group then joins in an extended dancing routine. It worked well and the audience loved it. Another scene with significant changes is Dream Ballet. This again takes place within a fenced enclosure and Older Billy (William Atkinson) dances with Billy. No flying scenes. The dance routine is fairly simple, though William Atkinson is clearly an accomplished ballet dancer. Dead Mam makes an appearance in this scene and stands in support of Billy .
To say again, each scene has a minor or major tweak, but all of which fit in with the overall storyline. You really cannot appreciate what it will look like until you have seen it play out. I personally very much enjoyed both performances, and comments overheard from other audience members were very positive and enthusiastic. Sorry, If I have failed to convey the difference between the two versions.
A final point. The adult casting was excellent, and Sally Ann Triplett is an outstanding Mrs Wilkinson. If anyone has any specific questions, I’ll try to answer, but my memory banks self-destruct more quickly than they used to.