Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Sheffan
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by Sheffan »

Thanks Real Geordie for your helpful travel tips. I've had some confusing experiences when using Birmingham New Street myself!!

Just as with my recent visit to the Mayflower Theatre Southampton, this will also be my first visit to the Birmingham Hippodrome since 1991. Still, not too long to the next visit - the UK tour of Miss Saigon this August!!

It is looking very much like the tour will be definitely coming to a close on July 23rd as it's getting a bit late to be announcing new dates.

Making what may be my final travel/hotel bookings for the Billy Elliot tour this weekend, I got to wondering what the producers have got planned, if anything, for the last shows. Any thoughts anyone?
I will be present for the last shows in both Milton Keynes and Hamburg. As some fans don't seem to be going to Hamburg, I hope there will be at least a special finale in Milton Keynes along the lines of that in the 2014 live DVD with maybe an appearance by Stephen Daldry and/or Lee Hall.

Maybe the Easington Colliery Band may be involved again. Fans will remember that as well as the final VPT show appearance, they also played outside the Sunderland Empire on opening night three days earlier.

I'm sure Billy Elliot will be revived again in the UK sometime in the future. Many West End shows seem to do a second tour a few years after the first. I think that if the show were to return to the West End, it would more likely be a limited run of say 6 to 18 months. There is so much public affection for this show, I think it is a case of when not if.
andrewcraig
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by andrewcraig »

Pancake day and the cast practice making and tossing pancakes

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Sheffan
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by Sheffan »

Interesting 18 minute interview with Annette McLaughlin by Kyle Pedley of Midlands Newsquest. He is also planning a review next week and maybe further cast interviews

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kport
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by kport »

Those of us who followed the US Tours recall the five trucks - lorries - distinctly painted with the Billy logo, that traversed the continent, making a great statement across thousands of highway miles. Can any of our UK friends tell us whether similar BETM-logo'd lorries are used in the UK to transport the sets and assorted items from city to city?

https://rakstagemom.files.wordpress.com ... g_2023.jpg

Has anyone in the UK spotted any of the North American Tour set - that was shipped to the UK after the Tour ended - incorporated in this tour - or did it go elsewhere (such as The Netherlands??)? It was specifically designed to pack into any 18-wheeler lorry/shipping container. Perfect for a cross channel voyage to Munich.............every item was built to be EU-compliant.........
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atreyu
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by atreyu »

The phrase that best captures my experience with the UK/Ireland tour (henceforth "The Tour") is "uniformly excellent". There are two parts to that phrase and I will start with the second.

Excellent reflects a very high bar of quality that The Tour has achieved, the highest in my opinion for my experiences across Broadway, the North American Tour and multiple US Regionals. I saw two shows on the West End, years apart, so I don't feel qualified to assess that production. Seemed to me that the NA Tour took the Broadway show to another level, refining it further and improving it in a lot of ways. The Tour now goes beyond that. It stands in contrast to US regionals where the name of the game is how can the show be simplified and (hopefully) retain the essence of BETM. On The Tour the challenge remains pushing Billys as far as they can go. It is a showcase of the jaw-droppingly amazing things a 12-year-old can do, demanding high levels of all the forms of dance that are utilized in BETM and being willing to put Billy at risk, such as doing the flip off the piano. With regionals, there are explanations of how 12-year-old pre-RBS Billy is not supposed to be "fully formed, leapt from the brow of Zeus". Well, on The Tour, they are, and they make no apologies for it.

There is a positive aspect of "uniformly" but also a slightly negative one, albeit primarily for us BETM veterans doing Billy-thons. It seems that just about every detail of the Billy performance is scripted. Every gesture, reaction even expression is very similar across the three Billys I got to see. To my eye, it is a culmination of all the best things that worked well for the many predecessor Billys and produces a fine characterization overall. This underscores the incredible attention to every last detail that goes into Billy training for The Tour. Extending even to the length of dramatic pauses and there are a lot of those, seeing as this show runs 3 hours and 5 minutes quite consistently. Are all those pauses necessary? Probably not, but most of them are better to have than rushing through.

However on some level, this uniformity produces some loss of individuality, ironically. On the NA tour, we learned which Billy did certain moves and reacted certain ways and it was interesting to see the styles in one Billy-thon. There was some variety across the Michaels, curiously enough, but less so across Billys.

I have three examples that capture both aspects of "uniformly excellent". First is the rope skipping. Through the Broadway run and NA tour, all the Billys would skip rope, but it was only certain Billys that learned to do cross-overs. Many regionals eliminate rope skipping altogether or keep it slow. On the UK tour, all the Billys skip rope, attempt crossovers and do so at fast speed. The success rate is not 100% of course, but when it does happen perfectly, WOW is it impressive!

Second is the overall choreography that is excellent and uniformly so. For a bit of brevity, this discussion will focus on Electricity. Whereas previously some Billies did aerials, some did more gymnastics, some did fancier pirouettes, in Southampton the Electricity choreography did not vary much. I reiterate that the performances are still highly impressive; after all, I suspect this dance went a long way toward winning Peter Darling his BETM Olivier and Tony awards.

One odd metric I have that was met on The Tour was consistently seeing Billy out of breath for the closing stanza of Electricity, having given maximum effort for the dance. In other productions I am seeing Billy being able to sing that stanza as it is on the cast recording, holding "and I'm free, I'm free" for most of the measure. Meaning the Electricity dancing wasn't as much challenge to him as it is on The Tour where it turns into a quarter note so that Billy can squeeze a couple more breaths in.

Last example pertains to the emotional first Letter scene. In Southampton, there is a real orchestra pit separating the audience from the stage so I could not tell if any of the Billys shed real tears there. Each of them performs the actions of wiping tears away so the effect is there and meets the "uniformly excellent" level of interpretation. But it was often the case in the past where a Billy shedding real tears in that scene made it extra special. Not sure if it is happening on The Tour.

All told, this "uniformly excellent" approach just about guarantees a consistently great performance every show. Even with the long running time, the audiences I saw were in rapt attention all the way through to the final final curtain. During the multiple dramatic pauses, there was absolute silence; one could hear a pin drop. For us BETM veterans, "uniformly excellent" makes the job harder to capture and describe the different strengths among these Billys. They are there to be seen and I'm sure most of us will be willing to take on the challenge. :D

The very best change that I observed in The Tour is allowing Billy to actually break character for a moment, when he has just finished Electricity. It didn't occur in every performance, but seeing it happen more than once indicates to me that it is no longer considered a flaw. I call that a positive step because letting these young actors enjoy that moment is so richly deserved. When Billy breaks into a smile, it triggers an extra roar of adulation from the crowd, and you know beyond any doubt this is genuine response. Whereas the standing ovation after the Finale might be contrived or politeness, the crowd reaction to Electricity is as real as it gets. "Proper" acting may require Billy to stay in character. I for one fully support giving Billy permission to accept accolades for his efforts by hearing 1000+ people in full throat bringing down the house in appreciation of the spectacle they have just witnessed.

The one quibble I have is minor, but one I have to mention. For a show that allows many pauses to enhance the drama, it is ironic that there is one missing for Billy's final line. There is a pause just before the kiss with Michael and Billy has walked a few seconds before delivering the line. But the result of "See ya Michael" while in full stride makes it somewhat matter-of-fact. Having Billy pause his walk before delivering that last line adds a whole lot of meaning.
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angelenroute
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by angelenroute »

atreyu wrote:on some level, this uniformity produces some loss of individuality, ironically
I appreciated your take, as it was weighed with your knowledge of other productions, especially in the United States. I can totally understand how it would be a disappointment for you, seeing each Billy trained to perfection with the same mannerisms. Certainly works great for 99.9% of the audience, but can be a little letdown for a fan going back for multiple shows. Great review nonetheless, and I'm happy to hear you heap so much praise on it!

-Sean

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Sheffan
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by Sheffan »

I'm commenting on both the posts by Atreyu and kport above:

Atreyu - many thanks for your article above and Southampton review, both fascinating reads - most interesting and informative. Great that you came over to see the Tour from the US, a very warm welcome. It is a shame that I missed both Broadway and US tour - if they are ever revived, I will not hesitate to make the trip. Thankfully there are whole show streams on YouTube of adequate quality. I get quite emotional watching Tommy Batchelor and Trent Kowalik perform in them.
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Also thanks to Patc for yet another fabulous review - no Billy-thon would be the same without him!!
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In answer to kport - I read somewhere that the UK tour uses the non-touring Dutch set which was refurbished by the workshops at the Theatre Royal Plymouth. The family owned company Paul Mathews International transports the show around the UK on nine "mega-trailers" according to the company's website. I saw one of them arrive on the final day of the run last April at Sunderland and I can confirm they of the same design which you can see by clicking on the link below. Unfortunately, there is no specific Billy Elliot branding, I assume they are used for other shows once BETM is settled at a particular venue:

http://www.paulmathewtransport.com/mega ... photo.html

I find the technical side of the show fascinating. Here are selection of articles and videos which forum members may have missed:

BETM UK tour set build at WMC, Cardiff last June - time lapse video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfAxxsidrg4

Billy Elliot UK tour behind the scenes hosted by Howard Williamson. Howard is the guy who comes onto the stage if the show is suspended for any reason. He also replaces the bricks used by Billy in Angry Dance in a recess at the front of the stage during the interval:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk4gUDhLx98

White Light have worked on the tour lighting - they also worked on the show at the VPT and have substantially upgraded the technology:

http://www.whitelight.ltd.uk/243400/the ... ite-light/

Interview with BETM UK tour company manager Paul Bouchier and general manager Jane Thompson on the challenges of moving the show around the UK & Ireland.

https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/201 ... liot-road/

It is a massive effort to move this show. Trailers arrive within hours of the final performance at a particular venue and work almost 24 hours in shifts. It is usually only possible for the cast to do a final rehearsal at the new venue literally only a few hours prior to the performance on Tuesday. I'm guessing the set will be in place by now at Birmingham Hippodrome with perhaps lighting and sound work still in progress. This would make a fascinating TV documentary
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Next week sees me visit Easington and Dawdon for the second time (where the 2000 film was shot). I'm up in Newcastle to see the Blood Brothers UK tour at Newcastle Theatre Royal starring the legendary Lyn Paul.. I last visited during the BETM UK tour run at Sunderland last April (see my article elsewhere in this forum). Have made a last minute booking for BETM in Birmingham only 48 hours later - one of the last remaining circle seats. Will post a full review of my March 29/30 and April 28/29 visits - should get a chance to see the mega-trailers as this was the original "last night of the tour"!!
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patc
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by patc »

Thanks so much, atreyu, for your most interesting and unbiased comments (and review) following your Tour-athon. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much especially having travelled such a long way. Just a few comments to keep the chat going.
One odd metric I have that was met on The Tour was consistently seeing Billy out of breath for the closing stanza of Electricity, having given maximum effort for the dance. In other productions I am seeing Billy being able to sing that stanza as it is on the cast recording, holding "and I'm free, I'm free" for most of the measure. Meaning the Electricity dancing wasn't as much challenge to him as it is on The Tour where it turns into a quarter note so that Billy can squeeze a couple more breaths in.
In London a Billy being out of breath for the closing stanza of Electricity was by no means an unusual occurrence, some Billys more than others. I'm surprised any of them are still able to stand after it let alone sing and do some more dancing, somersaults and final spins :D.
Last example pertains to the emotional first Letter scene. In Southampton, there is a real orchestra pit separating the audience from the stage so I could not tell if any of the Billys shed real tears there. Each of them performs the actions of wiping tears away so the effect is there and meets the "uniformly excellent" level of interpretation. But it was often the case in the past where a Billy shedding real tears in that scene made it extra special. Not sure if it is happening on The Tour.
No, I have not seen any of the Tour Billys shed actual tears in that scene. In London very few of the 42 Billys did it either. Tom Holland and Mitchell Tobin were masters at it. I’m inclined to believe that Tom’s ability to be so outwardly emotional was one of the reasons he got his first big film role in THE IMPOSSIBLE. The scene is still quite a tearjerker but I agree with you that actual tears make it that bit more special.
The very best change that I observed in The Tour is allowing Billy to actually break character for a moment, when he has just finished Electricity. It didn't occur in every performance, but seeing it happen more than once indicates to me that it is no longer considered a flaw.
I have never heard anyone say it was considered a flaw. On the contrary, it immensely enhances the enjoyment of the show to be given an opportunity to show extended appreciation at that point. Holding that pose for any length of time at the finish of Electricity must be fairly painful. In Dublin, Billy would have had to hold it for ten minutes! I'm surprised that it didn't happen in all of your shows as, to date, I have never seen it not happen. Perhaps they just didn't bother knowing the generally flat audiences in Southampton. On the Tuesday of last week, Haydn tried it briefly but got zero response and quickly finished off the scene. Apart from that it has happened in every Tour show I have seen and the audiences have gone ballistic at that moment. In London at the end of the show when Billy ran back on stage at the end he was pushed forward for individual adoration but he isn’t given this on the Tour so it is very appropriate that he has a particular moment of glory after Electricity.
The one quibble I have is minor, but one I have to mention. For a show that allows many pauses to enhance the drama, it is ironic that there is one missing for Billy's final line. There is a pause just before the kiss with Michael and Billy has walked a few seconds before delivering the line. But the result of "See ya Michael" while in full stride makes it somewhat matter-of-fact. Having Billy pause his walk before delivering that last line adds a whole lot of meaning.
Yes, this is very true although I'm pretty sure that this didn't happen at all of the venues. However, one of the interesting things about the Tour is the route of the "Billy walkoff". It has varied quite a bit in theatres and Southampton would appear to be one of the longest. London had the shortest. In Southampton some Billys put down the case just after bottom of the steps and others made it across the front and over as far as the exit aisle. This variation also happened in one or two of the other theatres. There is a specific point in the music at which the final kiss takes place and maybe there are "case" points as well and were, therefore, "rushing" to get there in synch and, so, had to deliver the line whilst in full stride. Just a thought.

One thing I forgot to mention in my review was that the sound at the Mayflower was nothing like as good as the other theatres and I would have missed a fair few lines had I not known them anyway.
I appreciated your take, as it was weighed with your knowledge of other productions, especially in the United States. I can totally understand how it would be a disappointment for you, seeing each Billy trained to perfection with the same mannerisms. Certainly works great for 99.9% of the audience, but can be a little letdown for a fan going back for multiple shows.
Seán, believe me, as a multiple, multiple viewer :D there is no letdown whatsoever. Not when the show and cast are every bit as brilliant as the VPT.

Pat
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angelenroute
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by angelenroute »

patc wrote:
angelenroute wrote:I appreciated your take, as it was weighed with your knowledge of other productions, especially in the United States. I can totally understand how it would be a disappointment for you, seeing each Billy trained to perfection with the same mannerisms. Certainly works great for 99.9% of the audience, but can be a little letdown for a fan going back for multiple shows.
Seán, believe me, as a multiple, multiple viewer :D there is no letdown whatsoever. Not when the show and cast are every bit as brilliant as the VPT.

Pat
All relative! I wouldn't call it a letdown elsewhere, just on the forum, and I agree completely. :D

-Seán

p.s. Apologies to you, Pat, and others, for not responding much to reviews anymore, and I guess I was never responding much to London reviews, anyway. I do read almost every word on the forum (though I gloss over now and then on the longer, gushier reviews haha), but I just don't feel the need to respond most of the time. Anyway, only mentioning that so you all know your words matter, even if they don't receive replies! Warm wishes as always from across the pond!

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patc
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Re: Chat about BETM UK/Ireland Tour

Post by patc »

angelenroute wrote:p.s. Apologies to you, Pat, and others, for not responding much to reviews anymore,
Absolutely no apologies needed, Seán. History will tell that, in our time, this Forum is "how we brought the good news from Event to Thee" (and not a horse in sight) - with apologies to Bobby Browning :D

Pat
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