January 2010 Reviews - London

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butterfly33
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by butterfly33 »

Went to see Billy Elliot on Thursday 21st evening performance....i thought the show was brilliant and enjoyed watching Phil Snowden as Mr.B,and John Coates as George...they both really suit playing these parts. The ensemble/swings worked extremely hard as alot of the regular cast were missing. Looking forward to watching again.
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by Marky »

burtond wrote:
I wonder why Mr Braithwaite in the Born to Boogie scene makes a pause before saying ‘..you little w**ker’. The pause is totally out of place and is pointless. When Phil Snowden played Mr Braithwaite, there was never a pause and the phrase seemed totally in context.
I'm not fussed about this either way, but I've always had the impression that he is saying it quietly behind Mrs. W back, whereas earlier in the show he could just tell Billy straight out what he thought of his dancing. The pause is just to wait until she is out of listening distance. If you look at Mrs. W's expression immediately after (who has overheard anyway) she sometimes looks a little annoyed....actually more like this :roll:
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burtond
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by burtond »

Good point Marky :roll:
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burtond
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by burtond »

Wednesday 27th January 2010 – UK London

Billy – Fox
Michael – George
Debbie – Fleur

It is time to bottle this show up as a tonic – it is just a wonderful , entertaining, hilarious and emotional experience from beginning to end. Sheer brilliance on behalf of the writer Lee Hall and constructed by an amazing creative team led by Stephen Daldry. Every little bit of the show is an absolute masterpiece and every time I go, I see so much more within the show that I have not personally captured before – how long can this go on – well , I believe no matter how many times I am lucky to attend, there will be something new to see. Can this ever be bettered – well possibly, but at the moment (in my view) it is so far ahead of its nearest rival, there is no chance of me losing interest.

Tonight features amongst the best of my BETM experiences – made even better by a receptive and active audience who levied their support of the cast almost at every verse end. A great audience does make for a great show. The whole atmosphere in the Theatre was electrifying.

The Foxter was playing Billy tonight – A remarkable guy with great all-round talent. I’m sure that we are getting even more from Fox now that there is light at the end of his tunnel. It is the little things in his performance that stand out and yet he still seems totally at one with his character.

Billy and Grandma in the breakfast scene had a lovely little moment. Grandma banged the tomato sauce bottle a little hard on the kitchen table and a splash of tomato sauce immediately left the bottle and promptly hit Billy unexpectedly in the face – there was a surprised smile for a moment or two whilst he recovered.

Billy and Michael (played by George) provided the usual over-the-top camp humour in Expressing Yourself – these two actors work really well together and compliment each other perfectly. If I have one comment to make it is the Joke about the piano falling down the mine shaft – I have never attended a performance where this has worked. I could suggest that in true ‘have you heard…’ style, it would be a good idea for Billy to repeat back to Michael – in this way we have a second opportunity to hear the opening lines of the joke which are often missed because the guys are working hard on the dance at the same time. George knows how to play the audience and he played hard tonight which of course, the audience loved to pieces.

Fleur is a cheeky little Debbie and provides some humorous sequences between herself and Billy. We had an extra long pause this evening following the Debbie line ‘… I’ll show you me f***y greeted by raucous sustained laughter from the back of the stalls – Fox cashes in on this and reacts accordingly, extending the pause for as long as possible.

Fox’s Angry Dance was generally accepted by others I spoke to in the interval as the most angry we have seen him perform it. There was real gritty passion in the moves, the numerous grunts and expletives. It was quite powerful stuff.

In the second half it was great to see Sergio Giacomelli partner Fox for the Dream Ballet. If I didn’t know better, it would seem that Sergio is used with Fox as they both have dark curly hair. This has happened a number of times now. Barnaby Meredith is still a great Older Billy and was in attendance as he appeared in the audition scene.

Electricity – what can I say that I have not before – just breathtaking – superb – I could watch Fox perform this piece over and over again as could the appreciative audience I dare say. Such energy, such style, so interesting………..etc.etc.

The only bit I snarled at tonight was the end scene. The falling curtain hadn’t even dropped below the top of the proscenium arch and the audience started their end of show applause. The most tender moment of the show was missed and the final kiss even generated a giggle from the back. Such a shame.

But hey ho – what a pleasure it was again to go and see this brilliant show.

Looking forward already to next week.
An ex-Regular and someone who was Passionate about the show but who has now found the rest of the WEST END.
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olivejuice
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by olivejuice »

Thanks for the great review burtond, I practically felt like I was there reading it!
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by alexandre »

25/01/2010
Billy: Ollie Gardner
Michael: Jake Pratt
Debbie: Emily Smith

With the premature end of the Melbourne season, Australian fans must now face the torrid journey to the UK or USA for another hit of Billy. Hence with an equal mixture of excitement and trepidation I have travelled to the far shores of Mother England, ostensibly for a sightseeing holiday but with one or two (or more...) BETM shows thrown in. And after a seven month plus drought, it’s good to be back and adding to the tally. Here are a few thoughts about Monday’s show dispatched from the Eurostar:

The first Billy the mother theatre put on was Ollie and what a thoroughly excellent performance he put on. He’s certainly the most expressive actor I’ve seen in the role, always switched on. Great facial expressions really conveyed Billy’s emotions, there’s no doubt that Ollie really understands the part well. A particular favourite is in Solidarity where he looks well pleased after learning to pirouette only to be told he the worst of the bleedin’ lot and the expression changes completely. Also, the real tears in the Letter were particularly wrenching from the front row vantage point.
I found Ollie’s singing and ballet to be quite proficient and his tap is exceptional combining nicely with the livewire Michael for the night, Jake. That kid has got terrific comedic timing and was a riot on stage.

Ms. Riding is a marvellous Mrs. W. Though I do think Genevieve is a superstar (and you can judge for yourself when she comes over in June), Joanna plays the part more tenderly with the Billy which is nice and is just a little bit more agile in Born to Boogie :) .

Barnaby Meridith dances like a dream, such a pleasure to watch. Dream Ballet was all the more moving when you can see what a world class dancer Billy will become. After seeing Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake the previous night I’ve drawn the conclusion that there is a surfeit of brilliant male ballet dancers in London.

The music director (Matt Malone, I’m told) put in an astonishingly virtuoso performance of conducting. He was at times amusing, other times much less so and as baffling as the Paris metro system, very different from Stephen Amos back home.

There are few but noticeable differences in the London show, most I have to say are very good. Some different lines and the pauses inserted work well, blood when Dad hits Tony was a fine (shocking) touch and the audition sequence is a corker. Angry Dance is more dance than angry though Ollie gave it a good shake, liberally peppering the scene with four-letter words. However it’s not quite the earth shattering Oz version which remains one of the best scenes in theatre I’ve seen but now, unfortunately, is history. Here’s hoping for an unlikely reprise in Chicago. Expressing Yourself is longer and much more camp which is less to my taste. The drums are given more prominence is the UK arrangement: good, bui the guitar is more subdued: bad. Overall I would’ve liked it louder especially in the first verses of Solidarity.

A further farrago of thoughts will be in the offing when I see the show again. Thanks to ‘burtond’ for the company and sparring :lol: . Hope I’ll get to see more fans in the one or two (or more...) BETM shows I’ve booked. If the other boys are as good as Ollie was it will be very well worth the trip.
burtond wrote: I wonder why Mr Braithwaite in the Born to Boogie scene makes a pause before saying ‘..you little w**ker’. The pause is totally out of place and is pointless. When Phil Snowden played Mr Braithwaite, there was never a pause and the phrase seemed totally in context.
It does seem out of context. In the Oz show, instead of Debbie saying 'you look like a d***head to me' (which is a good line) we had Mr. Braithwaite say 'you look like a right w**ker to me', and thus the follwing line and pause made more sense.
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burtond
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by burtond »

Great review alexandre.
Look forward to seeing you again next week and to reading your further reviews. Hope you see some of the other Billy's too. They are all excellent - you're in for a treat whilst you're here! :D
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by Billy Whiz »

Thanks for the reviews everybody.

What days are you at the show next week alexandre?
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by alexandre »

Billy Whiz wrote: What days are you at the show next week alexandre?
Saturday (tomorrow) and then Monday night then home... for a short time then onto a US sojourn inc. some billy shows in NY and Chicago.
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Re: January 2010 Reviews - London

Post by Moby-Dick »

Thanks, burtond and alexandre for the wonderful reviews!

Really love reading about the London shows, as I still often wish that I could have seen all the current actors playing Billy in London while I was there. So reading these marvelous reviews is really the next best thing! Keep 'em coming! :mrgreen:

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