AN OVERVIEW OF THE PRODUCTION

[Real Geordie]

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.

[porschesrule]

Thank you for a very well written and clear overview of this new rendition of our favorite musical. Sounds like it's being well received. Thank you again for taking the time to write out and share your thoughts, Real Geordie.

[Real Geordie]

I’ve now had an opportunity to mull over this new production, having seen a few more performances. Everyone who has not yet seen the new production will I’m sure still be having some difficulties in grasping how and why it is different. The below podcast interview with Sally Ann Triplett gives some clues. Also, the review by the Guardian newspaper struck a chord with me - again see below. This is first and foremost a story driven production, the music providing support as before, with the dancing a less prominent ingredient - but the latter still feels exciting and enjoyable, possibly more individualistic and spontaneous rather than by rote. It just as a whole feels natural and realistic. I would happily watch either version, and would not say one was better than the other - they are quite simply different animals. It was the stated intention of the Curve team not to simply copy the original. To try to compare scene on scene is, I think, to miss the point. Scenes should be judged in their own right. I enjoyed the very first performance of Billy I saw at Curve, and it has grown on me ever since. I hope more people have the opportunity to see this new interpretation, and that it is not limited to those fortunate enough to be able to get to Curve during its short run. I think it possible however that the physical attributes of Curve may be difficult to replicate elsewhere, without diluting the impact of the show.

Sally Ann Triplett
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0ckm733 Note : you do not need a licence for BBC Sound, as it is audio only, and it is available worldwide. You might need to register and sign in however. From 41:30 mins to 55:00 mins. Excerpts below.

“The show feels so authentic ….. It’s not so much a show as an experience …. It feels very different from anything I’ve done before”

“It’s very much like the film, more like the film than what they had in the West End for all those years. That was incredible but it was quite showbiz, and very slick, loads of dance routines, whereas this is much more the heart of it, even the dance numbers have got the heart of it.”

“In the wings every night we watch the little scene which feels like a Spielberg feel, that very last scene where Michael comes on and says “Oi, dancing boy”, and he comes back and they hug ……I mean it’s making me (intake of breath)……. we cry when we watch that” [the ending in this interpretation is different - slightly extended - and adds to the emotion]

“The picture they’ve created, it feels like you’re underground to me, it feels like you’re in a mine, I don’t know how they’ve done it, it just feels like the whole world is underground, it’s quite extraordinary to look at”

Guardian review - “Where Stephen Daldry’s original production, which ran for 11 years, felt like Billy Elliot the Musical – with a capital Musical – Foster’s new version is more like a play with dance and songs. Lee Hall’s script is given plenty of room to breathe and rings with ideas around love and loss, community and isolation, passion and violence. The result is a musical of unusual depth that distils Hall’s play to its essence but also feels nuanced and truthful.”

Glitzy or Gritty - which do you prefer ? I can live with both !

[oi_dancingboy]

I was glad they didn't mess with the dialogue. I still don't know why they didn't use Swan lake for dream ballet. I thought the music they went with was a bit poor really.

What did you think of the pacing Geordie? I never mentioned it in my write up but the gentleman sitting beside me said it all moved a bit fast. Especially the beginning of the first half. I kind of agree.

But minor quips and I am sticking with my 8 out of 10.

[oi_dancingboy]

I'll tell you one other thing, thinking about dialogue. They really need to put "Not suitable for young children. Contains very strong language and sexual innuendo" or something in Big bold letters when you book the tickets. There were quite a few primary school aged kids at the matinee and the mum and gran with their (guessing 10 year old) son in front of me kept pulling faces at each other and gasping everytime Billy opened his potty mouth.

If you've never seen it before or watched the movie then with the fact its on in the school holidays I think parents could be forgiven for thinking its suitable for youngsters. When it really isn't.

I've always thought perhaps Lee Hall could have toned it down a bit. Some lines do need it for gravitas or to add a gritty reality or sense of anger from the miners but there's really no need for Billy to be dropping the F bomb from almost the very first time he speaks. That's probably just me though.

[Real Geordie]

I’m not sure why they didn’t go with Swan Lake as it's iconic to both the film and the original production. I think it would have been an enhancement, even if only a short excerpt had been included somewhere. I seem to recall reading that they specifically requested permission to change the music for the scene. I’m not in any sense a “creative” however, so I can just shrug my shoulders in talentless ignorance and wonder why. As the Curve production is 20 or so minutes shorter than the original some scenes are shorter, but I don’t think anything of relevance has been taken out. I think they sliced out what they felt was excess baggage, and went for the lean, mean approach. Critics in the past have said that the show needed to be shorter. Overall, I didn’t get the impression that it was moving at too fast a pace. So far as the swearing is concerned they do give a guidance of age 12+ but it is ultimately parental choice, and the warning is easily missed in the small print. This is an argument which has rolled over the years. There is probably a middle ground that would satisfy everyone, but everyone has their own middle ground. I remember talking to an ex-miner during the interval when the tour was at Sunderland, and he was shocked by some of the language. However, youngsters often have a wider vocabulary than parents might think. Sometimes it is the parents who are shocked, rather than the youngsters !